


Find A Way

by Rinzydings



Category: Mystery Skulls Animated
Genre: Additional Warnings Apply, Amnesia, Angst with a Happy Ending, Behind the Scenes, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Roller Coaster, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Ghost Hunters, M/M, Memories, Multi, Pining, Pining Arthur, Polyamory, Self-Esteem Issues, Tags Contain Spoilers, Warnings May Change, like seriously there's a lot of pining going on from poor Arthur for a certain purple haired guy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 23
Words: 91,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22702006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinzydings/pseuds/Rinzydings
Summary: This is it. Lewis finally has his chance for revenge, but when that moment comes, that simple "Lewis?" freezes him in his tracks. Unable to kill his old friend -- at least, for now -- he rescues Arthur from the treacherous spiky drop. But why? Why couldn't he just let him fall?And why did dropping his murderer break his heart when this was what he wanted all along?... Or was it?With emotions running high and Arthur putting his true feelings out into open air, a simple touch shows Lewis a new side of things: Arthur's side.
Relationships: Arthur & Lewis & Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated), Arthur/Lewis/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated), Lewis/Vivi (Mystery Skulls Animated)
Comments: 229
Kudos: 419





	1. Oh, And I'll Prove You Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> Bold of me to make a fic when a new video comes out later this year? Yep! Let's get this show on the road!  
> You can find the [fic cover here too!](https://rinzydings.tumblr.com/post/190170362732/so-right-now-your-love-is-so-good-to-me-your-love)
> 
>   
> _Mmm, I've been hellbent, baby  
>  Hellbent on making you love me to  
> Even though not what I'm 'sposed to do  
> I don't give a damn, mmm_  
> H e l l b e n t

Just one word, one look, and it was all it took. 

_“Lewis?”_

Before the wraith even knew what he was doing, he let go. 

So did Arthur. 

The look he was given from his old friend as he fell sent his vengeful heart stuttering into uncertain beats against his chest. It beat, and beat, and _cracked_. 

It was like a jolt through his entire being. Every scrap of fear that had been on Arthur's face melted away into unmissable shock as the vengeful ghost revealed his living features. There was no horror at facing Lewis, no evil green _jealousy,_ just… stricken shock. That look carried into his tone of voice, and even on his face still as he fell.

Arthur was falling. _Arthur was falling._

For a split second, the hungry vengeance melted away into panic. It bloomed from his cracked heart, his anchor to this world, freezing him in place as he was assaulted by living memories. Memories that had been buried and smothered instead by his drive for revenge. But in his moment of pause, of his soul suddenly being rendered broken by that one look and his own action, they came slamming back upward through the burning haze. 

Times of the two boys hanging out at the garage, the restaurant with his family, with Vivi. Movie nights, video games, the three of them falling asleep on each other on the couch during infomercials…

Arthur. _Arthur_.

With a snap, Lewis inhaled sharply and vaulted forward. He dove off the ledge without a second thought, reaching outward desperately in his plummet down. Arthur's face was still locked in shock, falling a few feet quicker than the ghost in their descent. Narrowing his eyes with purpose, Lewis summoned a burst of fire at his heels and sent himself surging forward faster.

Boosted by flames normally fueled with hate, the fire sent him hurtling forward instead with brutal desperation. Within seconds, Lewis threw his arms around his stunned old friend and shifted his momentum, curling around his scrawny shape. Their fall slowed, then stopped altogether, leaving the pair of them suspended precariously close to the deadly spikes Lewis had just seconds before thought a wonderful serving of ironic justice. 

In the time it took from his jump downward and then snatching the mechanic, Arthur finally blinked and stopped staring at the ghost's skeletal face. Some semblance of life came back to his features, of realization, and it was in that moment reality set in. It was also in that moment that Arthur _screamed._

Completely taken off guard, Lewis nearly dropped the scrawny man. He internally flinched from the sound, grappling to keep Arthur still in his arms as he shot them back upward toward the cliff.

"Hey, _hey,_ " Lewis hissed, desperately trying to shush the shrieking, "stop that! You're not falling anymore!"

As they ascended, Arthur looked completely beside himself. Lewis wasn't even sure Arthur heard him. He was panicking, twitching hard as he likely tried to decide if he wanted to hold onto the ghost in fright from falling or recoil in terror because of him. His trembles jostled Lewis' bones, and he couldn't help an internal frown at the thought. While living, Lewis had _never_ wanted Arthur to be afraid of him. And to think, he had been so ready to kill him seconds ago… 

A glance at his locket told him still that it had been a bad idea. But why? Lewis had wanted _nothing_ but revenge, only to be in a position to extract it then… feel his heart break? Not only break, but shatter _worse_ than when Arthur had dragged Vivi away at the mansion? It didn't make sense, he shouldn't have saved Arthur, he should have felt accomplished in watching him fall. He should have _relished_ his murderer's death.

And yet, and yet… Arthur's stunned stare returned to the forefront of his mind beyond the shouting. The honest shock in his eyes, the pause in his struggles while dangling over the edge. 

" _Lewis?"_

Arthur had had no idea it was him until the ghost had revealed his true face.

Thankfully, as soon as the duo were over solid ground, the mechanic began to quiet down. His screams turned to erratic whimpering, and then to a yelp as Lewis unceremoniously dropped him. Flinching, Arthur moved into a sit and grappled at his left shoulder. Lewis watched him for a second with squinted, furrowed brows, only to be struck by a realization.

His arm… Arthur had a metal arm. When did that happen? Had he had that at the mansion too? What did he _do_ to cause an injury like that? Old feelings of worry rose up under the surface, but were quietly held in check by uncertainty. No, he couldn't be completely sympathetic. Not yet. He needed _answers_.

"Your arm," Lewis huffed, staring the mechanic down skeptically, "when did… that happen?"

Arthur jumped at his voice, looking up in shock once again with his mouth agape. He mouthed a few soundless words before finally managing, "L… _Lewis?_ Is, is that really you then?"

Furrowing his brows further, the wraith glanced downward. His tone… it was genuine. No, Arthur _knew_ what happened with him, why would he…

"Oh God," Arthur laughed out, slapping his real hand to his forehead, "I thought I-- I thought I was hallucinating again! Forget my arm, I… Lewis, what…" His own expression dropped and Lewis looked up to meet it, staring into those searching, confused eyes, "You're… you're a... Lew, what _happened_ to you?"

_What?_ All the anger that Lewis had managed to softly quell came roaring back in a swell of rage. Flames billowed up quickly behind him, and the ghost curled his hands into fists as the flame atop his head brightened and sparked to almost white.

"What happened," Lewis snapped, "what _happened?!_ I should like to ask you the same thing!"

Yelping, Arthur stumbled back onto an elbow at the display. He stared up in horror, his chest heaving quickly with strained breaths of fear. Had Lewis been more collected, he knew he would have felt bad. Not bad, _terrible._ Arthur _had_ always been skittish. But in that moment, all Lewis could process was blinding anger. How could his old friend play so _dumb?_

"Take a good, long look, Arthur," the wraith continued with a dangerous growl, motioning one hand grandly around them, "anything look _familiar?"_

Cringing away from the flames, Arthur carefully broke his gaze away and did as he was told. He looked around in jittery confusion, only to freeze after a few more moments.

"I-I," Arthur stammered out. Lewis willed him to continue, to dig his grave further and admit to his crime so he had a reason to throttle him. So he could tell his broken heart that it was _wrong_ to feel as it did.

"This… this is the cave," the mechanic went on, looking up at Lewis again with wide eyes, "the one we lost you in. E-everything suddenly went crazy and we couldn't find you--"

"Find me," Lewis scoffed, stomping toward the man, " _Find me?_ _You_ threw me off _a cliff!"_

Arthur looked completely aghast, "I _what?_ No--!"

"How else would I be _dead_ , Kingsmen!" the wraith roared, looming over the mechanic. The flames surged closer but never broke beyond Lewis, instead scorching up his back in a heated display.

"I don't know!" Arthur's voice was a near wail, and Lewis vaguely realized his old friend had a hand over his chest, "I didn't even know you were dead! I've been looking for you ever since that night!"

Despite his fury, Lewis allowed a single pause for Arthur to keep going, "I lost my arm in this cave! We lost you, and Vivi-- oh Vivi doesn't even _remember you_ , Lew! Not a single thing!"

Vivi… didn't remember him? What? _How?_ If his heart hadn't already been shattered, Lewis swore it would have broken then. Instead, his flames died down and slowly lost their intensity. Lewis let out a heated sigh, scrutinizing the man in front of him as anger continued to bubble in his chest regardless. Anger and… something else. Sadness? 

... _Regret?_

"I've done everything to find you," Arthur insisted, and it was in that moment the ghost realized how much his voice shook with emotion, "If not for Vivi, for myself and your family. I _had_ to know what happened, why Viv couldn't remember. I had to set it right, and that meant finding out what happened."

Balling his fists again, Lewis snorted angrily and eyed his old friend skeptically, "The only way you can set this right is by admitting what you did. By admitting you murdered me!"

"I swear on my life I didn't," Arthur pleaded, leaning toward him as he stared upward, "God, Lewis, what could _possibly_ push me to _kill_ you?! Why would I kill one of my best friends?"

"Because you just couldn't take it," Lewis countered angrily, "You just couldn't stand to see us happy!"

Arthur looked appalled, "What? You and V-- _No!_ Of course I wanted you two to be happy!" The mechanic shook his head, splaying his hands out in front of him helplessly as he went on, "I want nothing more in the world for you and Viv to be happy! You're my best friends, Lewis--"

"Best friends don't shove each other to their DEATH, ARTHUR!" Lewis shouted, the flames spiking back up behind him momentarily.

Yelping, Arthur held his metal arm up in front of his face to shield himself from the dangerous heat, "I told you! I didn't! I swear I didn't, I don't remember you falling!"

Lewis was _fuming_ . How dare Arthur lie to his _face_ and cower against the truth? He _saw_ Arthur at the edge as he fell, his face contorted in some strange mix he'd never seen before. The mechanic was a _coward_. A horrible, awful coward.

Even so, the mere thought made the cracks in his blackened heart sting even more.

"All just desperate lies because you couldn't take it," the wraith hissed. His flames calmed a little but didn't disappear.

Arthur was shaking his head behind his arm, "No!"

His fists shaking with anger, Lewis spat, "You let jealousy consume you!"

A flinch jolted the mechanic and his arm lowered a little, revealing him looking down miserably at the ground. Still, Arthur shook his head, "No…"

So that was it then. Lewis was _right_ . His old best friend had been jealous of them. The guilt was all over Arthur's face. He was _so close_ to a confession he could taste it.

"Admit it, Arthur," the wraith rumbled low, the flames at his back lowering, "You couldn't stand the sight of us together."

The mechanic looked... close to breaking. His arm lowered completely, his real hand rising to grip over his chest. Arthur refused to look his way, and had Lewis not been so angry, he knew the look would have hurt. Truthfully, it _did_ hurt, but not in the way it normally would. A look that would usually make him despondent instead kept his anger buoyed coolly. The accompanying silence was basically an answer all by itself.

Huffing in angry disbelief, Lewis went on slowly, "You really couldn't bear the thought that Vivi chose me instead of you."

Arthur froze. _There it is._

"You, her oldest friend," Lewis angrily goaded, "and she chose _me_."

Blinking, the mechanic's brows contorted in furrowed confusion. Arthur looked up, an incredulous expression on his face as he searched Lewis' eyes, "Wait, what?"

"You heard me!" Lewis growled. Something about Arthur's expression, it made him... uncertain all of a sudden.

"No, I--" Arthur shook his head, lifting his hand to cover his face and slowly pull it down to his mouth, his eyes turning upward again, "Is that what you think?"

"Of course it's what I think," the wraith snapped hotly, "Why would you shove me if you hadn't been trying to get rid of me to get to her!"

" _Lewis_ ," the mechanic desperately pleaded. His face turned unsure, nervous, and Arthur lowered his hand to rest in his lap. Looking down, he stammered, "I… maybe, m-maybe I _was_ jealous. But I was… I was never jealous of _you_."

The ghost paused. His flames snapped downward in an idle burn and his stare turned dumbfounded as he watched Arthur, "what?"

With twitching hands, the flighty mechanic began to fidget. He looked off to the side, confliction written all over his face as he bit his lip. Lifting a hand, Arthur pinched between his eyes and drug the hand over his face again, huffing shakily afterward as he kept his hand over his mouth.

"I was…" Arthur wavered, shifting the hand enough to be heard clearly, "I was jealous of _her_."

All at once, the flames dropped completely. Lewis stared downward, wide socketed and unmoving as he tried to process what he'd just heard. Arthur… was jealous of _Vivi?_

"Wh…"

"I'm," the blonde huffed, shoving his hand through his hair as he kept his gaze away. Only after he took a deep, slow breath did Arthur shakily look up to meet his eye, and every word felt like he was suddenly bearing his heavy, exhausted soul, "I'm _gay,_ Lew. I never wanted to be with Vivi. Never."

His resolve dropped at Lewis's frozen features and the mechanic stared downward, his voice turning small, "I… I-I wanted…"

Lewis was struck blindsided. He stood stock still, swift pulses rocketing painfully through his broken heart as he took it all in. Arthur… _didn't_ want to get rid of him? He _didn't_ want to steal Vivi? Arthur… wanted…

"It was always you I wanted, Lew," the man sighed heavily. Shyly, Arthur's gaze flitted upward and he managed to mostly hold the silent stare as he continued, "Not Vivi. I love you both and when she told me she wanted to ask you out I…" Again, Arthur's gaze lowered. His voice turned solemn and tired, and suddenly he looked every bit the man who likely had missed countless nights of sleep, "I didn't have the heart to stop her. I couldn't. She sounded so happy that I just let her go after you, even if... even if I wanted to be the one going after you instead."

Lewis didn't know what to do. Most of his anger had flipped to shock, leaving him standing motionless as he took the information in. The ghost had… _never_ considered that Arthur would be jealous of Vivi and not him. He supposed… that was rather closed minded, and hindsight showed that maybe Arthur _was_ telling the truth, but it was hard to be sure. The irrational, vengeance hungry part of his ghostly brain told him Arthur was lying, but something buried in the cracks of his heart told him otherwise. Something… buried in the humanity cloaked by his angry spirit. Arthur wouldn't lie like _that_ to save his own skin. 

Still, even so, what could he do? Lewis had been so bent on revenge, but now… if his heart had broken when he dropped Arthur _without_ knowing all this, it would surely shatter into intricate shards if he tried anything now. His entire purpose for coming back as a haunt was to bring his soul justice, but...

For the first time since his resurrection as a spirit, Lewis felt… lost.

"You…" he finally managed to whisper, drawing Arthur's nervous gaze, "but… really?"

Swallowing hard, Arthur nodded and moved his hand to rub his neck, "Yeah… L-look, it's. It's hard for me to admit-- it always has been. Vivi and uncle Lance know but…"

Uncertain, Lewis pressed, "But, you told me--"

"I know what I did," Arthur snapped in emotional exasperation. He flinched at the sound of his own voice, sniffing once and rubbing a palm over the side of his face. Was he… "I did it… I did it because I just couldn't get in the way of you two. I was too scared to say anything about how I really felt, so I… so I never told you the truth. I would've rather lied and kept you as a friend… instead of tell you and possibly lose you."

Lewis swore somehow, someway, his heart broke _more._ Creeping past the shock, Arthur's tone of voice struck him to his very soul. _Oh, Arthur._

Hesitantly, Lewis started, "Does Vivi know how you feel about me?"

Arthur shrugged, scrubbing at his neck furiously before dropping the hand with a sigh, "I, I don't know? Sort of? I told Viv at one point how I felt but it was before you two started going out, and then--"

Cutting himself off, Arthur rubbed a hand over his face and breathed in. Straightening up, he looked the ghost in the eye and said with desperate conviction, "Look, it doesn't matter. All of that to say, I would _never_ shove you off a cliff. I care about you, Lewis. I never stopped searching for you."

Lewis furrowed his brows, his fists curling together again tightly. Even as they did, he breathed out a slow exhale and released the tension with it, staring at the mechanic with that uncertainty magnified and dominating every other emotion, "... it's hard to deny what I saw."

"I promise, man! I didn’t…” Arthur was insistent, only to pause as he trailed off. His brows furrowed, expression turning thoughtful… _troubled_ as he added, “I, you’re… you’re sure it was me?”

With an uncertain squint his way, Lewis huffed, “Positive.”

"I… I really don't remember," the mechanic whispered. Arthur lifted a hand to his forehead, staring off with unfocused eyes at a point beyond them. There was a pale claminess taking over his face, and for the first time, Lewis felt a twinge of worry sneak past his guard. The man was mumbling, fidgeting metal fingers against his vest, "but maybe… m-maybe there's something to it…"

Immediately, Lewis straightened up. His eyes flicked wearily over the disturbed image of his old friend, listening close as he went on, "Maybe that's why Mystery tore my arm off…"

"Wait," Lewis interjected, cocking his skull toward the mechanic incredulously, " _Mystery_ did that? Our Mystery?"

Nervous laughter met his question and Arthur shook his head with it, "Yeah! I, I think so! I mean, it's what makes the most sense. All I remember is blacking out, and teeth, and red, and… pain a-and…"

A haunted look washed over Arthur's face just as the ghost was certain he couldn't get any paler. With a shudder, Arthur slid his hand off his forehead as he managed to recollect himself enough to speak again, "Maybe… maybe I _did_ do it…"

" _Arthur_ ," the wraith warned. Part of him was ecstatic to _finally_ hear a confession, while the other part… loudly argued that _that_ couldn't be used as one. Arthur was thinking aloud and sleep deprived, likely loopy from the rush of adrenaline from nearly _dying_. If anything, his old friend was trying to find a connection, albeit in a self destructive way if he wasn't careful.

Still, Lewis went largely ignored as Arthur rambled on, "Maybe… maybe your vengeance is _justified_ and… god I have no idea what happened when I blacked out. All I know is we were driving away and I was bleeding and with one less arm, but…" Finally Arthur met his eye, and Lewis had to admit that he was grateful that there was no trace of the maddened tone in his gaze when he'd been worried about hearing it, "but _terrified_ of Mystery."

"That is… strange," Lewis hesitantly agreed.

Arthur nodded along tiredly, "That and Vivi losing her memories. That entire night… it was a mess." Glancing upward, Arthur took a second to really look at the ghost, his eyes glued to him as they darted over his skull, "But it's, it's really _you_ now. After all this time I… I actually found you..."

For the first time, something like a laugh briefly jostled the wraith. Lewis squinted softly, eyeing Arthur as he mused, "I think you've got that the other way around."

In return, Arthur huffed his own nervous laugh. A shaky grin twitched onto his face and he reached a hand up to smooth over his neck, "Y-yeah! You found me alright. You…" All at once his expression fell, worry and a twinge of fear dancing in his eyes, "do... you still want to kill me?"

That… really was the question of the hour, wasn't it? Lewis had been _so sure_ that Arthur had maliciously tried to get rid of him, that killing him in return would at last bring his restless soul peace. But now, after his friend's insistent denials and confession of his true feelings… it was hard to say. Hell, even before he knew any of that, his heart had broken right after dropping him.

All because of that face and the way he said his name. If Arthur hadn't… seemed so genuine, maybe he could have gotten away with it. Maybe he could have felt fulfilled with vengeance. But now, now he was nothing but confused and torn. He was angry still, god he was angry, but he no longer knew at _what_ exactly. Angry at the fact Arthur denied his involvement so hard, angry that he couldn't seek revenge without hurting himself further, angry that… he didn't have something solid and tangible to be rightfully angry at that he could get rid of right then to dispelled the rage for good. 

Truth be told, Lewis didn't know what he wanted anymore.

So when he spoke again, he meant every bit of his hesitance and uncertainty, "I'm… not sure."

The paleness taking Arthur's face didn't leave at that, and he let out a shaky huff, "That's… better than an outright yes."

Better than an outright yes, and completely different from where Lewis thought this day was going to go. He honestly had no idea what to do. He wanted to pace, to throw fireballs, he wanted to do _something_ to dispel the built up tension and irritability he possessed. Arthur had been the intended target at first, but now, he just… he couldn’t. As angry as he was, Arthur was still his _friend_ deep down. His heart had proven that, and the fact that everything the mechanic told him about his recollections pinged true in that broken heart.

No matter how much he wanted to, Lewis couldn’t hurt him.

Sighing deeply, the ghost reached up and gently grazed his fingers over the cracked, pulsing locket. As he did, a light wisp of pink brushed over his skull and in its wake, an illusion of his living face appeared. Lewis was frowning heavily, staring down at his hand under gently furrowed brows. Ahead of him came a stuttered gasp and the ghost vaguely looked up.

“It,” Arthur whispered, looking on the verge of tears. His face was contorted by shocked sadness, a hand lifting to hover near his mouth, "it really _is_ you, Lew.”

With a shadow of some sort of smirk, Lewis mumbled, “Some semblance of me, anyway.”

And it was true. Ever since he had awoken, Lewis had… never felt truly like himself. He felt off, distorted, easier to anger. He knew why, he had basically been brought back as a spirit of vengeance, but that wasn’t to say he _liked_ it. Especially in moments like these between him and Arthur. He was understandably angry, his spirit was convinced he was face to face with his murderer, but he knew that if he were still _alive,_ he wouldn’t be so rash. He had a hot temper, but nothing like this. Nothing like... holding a fiery, seething grudge.

_Hard not to hold a grudge when you’re dead, and the face you have tied to your killer is one of your best friends._

Arthur’s voice brought the ghost out of his turbulent thoughts, listening as he carefully ventured, “Is, is that your… actual heart? Or well, your anchor as a ghost?”

Watching him cautiously, Lewis nodded, “Yes."

“What…” Arthur looked distraught, glancing between Lewis’s face and the locket, “what happened to it?”

Snorting humorlessly, Lewis raised his hand to cover the fractured surface completely as his eyes turned down, “I dropped you off a cliff and nearly killed you.”

At that, Arthur stared in wide eyed shock. Heavy silence surrounded them, hardly even broken by his whispered, “o-oh…”

For a long moment, nothing but that silence settled around them. Lewis’s flames had died to nothing, and even Arthur refrained from fidgeting where he sat. His exhaustion was more apparent by the minute, and for a second Lewis swore he was going to fall over from where he sat and pass out.

Instead, the mechanic drew in a long, nervous breath and dared a glance upward, “This, this may be out of line, but…”

Clearing his throat, Arthur went on bravely, “May I… see it?”

Lewis sparked indignantly under the facade of his living face, stopped only as Arthur nervously pressed, “If I’m the one who caused the damage, maybe, m-maybe I can fix it somehow?”

Burning eyes locked on Arthur, watching him slowly sink into himself as his voice faded from the open air. The mechanic _dare_ ask to touch something so precious when he was the main suspect of his murder? He had the _nerve_ to even suggest… to… Lewis paused. From where Arthur sat, the scrawny man gained a deeper frown and let his eyes fall off to the side. Arthur just… wanted to help. He was being genuine, he was being his _friend._ Never had he seen Arthur look so sorry and miserable in his life.

_Lewis?_

The ghost squeezed his eyes shut tightly, letting go of a deep, silent sigh as he did. Truthfully, what worse could happen to him now? He was _dead._ Couldn’t get much worse than that.

“You’re right,” Lewis mused to himself, “it _is_ out of line.”

Looking up, Lewis noticed his old friend still looking disheartedly downward. Closing his eyes, the ghost shifted to sit on his knees.

“But,” he murmured, slipping his fingers around the locket. Carefully, Lewis extended the sickly looking heart outward and opened his eyes to see the stunned expression on the mechanic’s face, “you can’t hurt me worse than I have been already.”

Across from him, Arthur sat stock still. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights, wide eyes glued to the cracked heart but unmoving otherwise. It wasn’t until Arthur seemed to remember he had to _breathe_ did he quietly gasp. Blinking, he looked nervously up at Lewis and then at the heart. With labored movements, the mechanic scooted himself closer and cautiously reached out a hand. Every second felt like it lasted a lifetime before Arthur’s hand finally hovered just over the locket.

“For… what it’s worth,” the mechanic said solemnly, eyes flicking upward to meet Lewis’s gaze, “I’m… truly sorry.”

With a nervous breath, Arthur lowered his hand and let his fingers gently brush and rest against the cracked surface.

A soft shock rippled through the ghost’s being. Lewis drew in a quick breath, his flames sparking at the sensation as it passed through his soul. That was… not what he was expecting. The edges of his vision flickered in black, then eerie green, and finally a warm gold. 

All at once, sensations and feelings began to assault him. Voices and sounds, sights and memories, and it took Lewis a moment to realize he wasn't seeing through his own eyes or feeling with his own emotions. Beyond him, he could vaguely see Arthur looking at him in soft confusion, but the wraith couldn’t rightly focus on him alone.

Images blasted by, filling his mind and soul alike as the golden haze magnified until...


	2. My Story, My Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _My love, my days  
>  My time, my face  
> My story, my soul  
> My future in control  
> My lovers, my team  
> And dreaming in between  
> I hear the future is calling me, yeah_  
> F o r e v e r

“Ooooh, wow! Look how cute this place is, Artie!”

With her arm hooked through his, Vivi drug her snickering friend further into the quaint little restaurant. Arthur had heard of this place before, a local run business that was a hotspot for the adventurous, but he’d never bothered to really check it out. It wasn’t until Vivi was visiting the shop while he was chatting with a customer that the name Pepper Paradiso came up and his friend visibly lit up. After proclaiming she’d always wanted to go there, Arthur promised that the next day he had off, the pair of them would check it out.

Once that promised Thursday rolled around, Arthur showed up at the Tome Tomb and picked the excited girl up from work. It was a quick ride over to the charming little restaurant and Vivi was more than ready to try the new delicacies from the counter service, having practically lunged out of his car to dart for the door.

“Welcome to Pepper Paradiso,” a man in a white chef’s coat greeted cheerily from the counter. He flashed them a grin, his pink and white hair swept back in a hair net as he toyed with the register, “have you two been here before?”

“First time,” Arthur offered with a kind smile, glancing at the girl attached to his arm as she grinned away.

“But I’ve been really curious,” Vivi chimbed in enthusiastically. “I’ve heard nothing but good things about this place.”

Laughing good heartedly, the man sidestepped and motioned to a large chalkboard menu behind him, “Well, you’re in for a treat! We’ve got a large selection of sweet, spicy, and everything in between! Feel free to badger me with any questions you have.”

After a few moments of going over the menu, the pair of them decided on a small platter of chocolate covered peppers and lightly spiced milkshakes. It was something they’d both never had before, but Arthur was willing to give it a go for the experience at the very least. He offered to pay for Vivi as the girl took their table token and trotted off to find a good seat. It wasn’t very busy at that time of day, so their choices were pretty wide open.

“Alright, we’ll have that ready for you real soon,” the man behind the counter grinned. As Arthur nodded and slipped his wallet away, he heard the man call into the back, “Order up, Lew! I’ve got some chocolate peppers needed for the front!”

He vaguely heard a voice respond to the order, but was already on his way to join his sitting friend to hear it clearly. As Arthur approached, all casual with hands in his pockets, Vivi already had her phone out and scooted her chair close to the one her friend was aiming for.

"Look at the new batch of books we got in today," Vivi excitedly showed him. Resting his elbows on the table after taking his seat, Arthur leaned on them to look at the array of books and comics Vivi had taken pictures of. They were packed neatly in boxes, their spines facing up so the titles and authors could be seen at a glance. As she flipped between pictures, the girl chattered excitedly, "there was this one that was all torn at the edges and it looked  _ really _ old. Duet wasn't sure about accepting it but I offered to buy it."

Snorting a laugh, Arthur shook his head and rested his chin in a palm with a smirk, "Your book collection is going to be as big as the shops if you keep this up."

"I knoooow," Vivi groaned dramatically, "I'm going to have to buy a new, smaller house at this rate."

"Smaller house?" Arthur echoed teasingly with a raised brow, "Will a small house fit them?"

Grinning, Vivi giggled out as she nudged his arm, "No, gear head, the small house is for me and Mystery! The books can have the big one."

"Ohhh," the mechanic laughed out, shaking his head, "because  _ that's  _ the smart decision to make."

Vivi gave her phone a twirl on the table, grinning widely at her friend, "Yep! I'm sure mom and dad will think I'm renting someone out but nope! Surprise, it's books!"

"Knowing them," Arthur’s smirk widened, "they'd probably be more surprised if you  _ were _ renting someone out."

For a moment Vivi looked like she was about to argue, but instead the girl succumbed to a fit of wild laughter. Arthur couldn't help but join, covering his mouth and shaking his head at the girl.

Two years older than him, Vivi had been one of Arthur's oldest friends. They'd met in middle school and Vivi had been the type of person that wouldn't let a few grades get between them. She had always been excitable and passionate about her interests or just life in general, and Arthur couldn't help but be drawn to her bright energy. No matter what, she had stuck beside him and Arthur found himself doing the same for her. He quickly became unable to see a life without his quirky friend in the mix.

Even after his parents had been caught in a deadly car crash, Vivi was the first one at his side after his uncle. She refused to let Arthur be alone, and always made it clear he had a family with her. Arthur wasn't sure he'd ever find a way to repay the kindness she showed to him. As the years went on, he had gone to her high school graduation and she to his, and even afterwards the two constantly hung out. 

After their school years were swept behind them, Vivi picked up a job at the Tome Tomb and had moved up to assistant manager pretty quickly. Arthur on the other hand immediately started working for his uncle at his mechanic shop. It was an easy job, seeing as how he had been doing stuff there since he was a kid anyhow. His uncle Lance had taken him in after the accident, and his free time was often spent in the shop thereafter as a therapeutic outlet.

From there, Arthur had picked up his knack for robotic tinkering and general mechanical instincts. He could tackle almost any problem that was mechanical or electrical, and was a valuable asset at the workplace. Despite the tragedy that befell him early in life, Arthur couldn't really complain about his lot. He had a roof over his head free of charge, a steady job, and a best friend who never let him stew in the shop for too long.

As far as Arthur was concerned, things were just fine.

Only a little bit of time passed as Vivi filled her friend in on the rest of her work day did movement catch the mechanic's eye. Both of them paused and sat up more properly for the approaching employee, and Arthur spared the person a glance as he wandered over with a small tray balanced on one hand. He was clad in a soft purple uniform that matched his hair and shaped him perfectly, but it was the smile that shone in his eyes that caught the mechanic’s attention.

Arthur swore his heart skipped.

" _ Hola _ , friends," the waiter greeted with a grin, lowering the tray, "chocolate peppers and shakes for you two?"

While Arthur fought his tied tongue, Vivi piped up with a friendly smile, "That's us!"

It was only after the waiter set the peppers and shakes down did the mechanic find his voice and he managed to smile back pleasantly, tugging his shake close, "Thanks man, we appreciate it."

Grinning, the purple haired waiter nodded to them both and flattened the tray to his chest, "My pleasure! If you need anything else, give us a shout."

"Will do," Vivi giggled, waving farewell to him.

As soon as he was out of earshot, the book girl whirled on Arthur and  _ grinned _ . Oh he knew that expression too well, and already he could feel warmth trying to nestle across his face as he vaguely avoided eye contact. Vivi nudged at his arm repeatedly, giggling low, "Oh my god Artie what was  _ that?" _

Heat raced up Arthur's back and it took all of his control not to sink into his seat and hide under the table. He slapped a hand over his face, groaning as Vivi went on in a fake macho tone with her arms puffed out and all, " _ Thank you my dude, my guy, we will enjoy this feast that you went out and hunted for us. _ "

"Shut it," Arthur laughed, battering her away to try and hide the redness on his face, "I was just being casual!"

"As casual as a wrestler at a wedding party," Vivi cackled out. She unwrapped her straw, twirling through cinnamon topped whip cream as she went on, "you should talk to him!"

Barking a laugh, Arthur shook his head and smoothed a hand through his hair, "With  _ that _ resounding vote of confidence? Not gonna happen!"

"Fine," the girl giggled, biting her straw as she side eyed her friend mischievously, "I'll talk to him. You're not the only one who found him cute."

Sputtering, Arthur looked over as she stuck her tongue out playfully and the two of them dissolved into laughter again. The pair went back and forth softly teasing each other, enjoying the spicy and sweet treats as they did. The chocolate covered jalapenos were  _ good _ , and the kick of ginger and cayenne mixed into Arthur's chocolate shake made him crave more.

Without a doubt, going to the Pepper Paradiso had been a good choice.

An hour passed them by quickly and their shakes and peppers were gone easily within that time. They went back and forth discussing the day and anything that came to mind, only stopping when a presence hovered by their table. 

His grin still there, the waiter asked, "Want me to get those out of the way for you?"

"Sure," Vivi grinned back, nudging their dishes toward the boy, "Could we maybe get two waters please? If it's not too much trouble."

"None at all," the waiter chuckled, sparing them both a glance, "I'll be right back with those." 

As he walked away, Vivi crossed her arms on the table and turned a brighter grin to her friend, "He seems really nice! We should leave a big tip since we've just been sitting, too." 

Arthur nodded in agreement, glancing the waiter's way and then back. The look didn't escape Vivi's attention and she giggled quietly at him, straightening up once the waiter was back.

"So what brings you two out this evening," he asked casually, watching where he set the waters down in front of them as he did, "date night? Friendly hang out?"

In unison, both responded with the same inflections on, "Friendly hang out."

Arthur shot her a glance at the same time Vivi did, and the two once again snickered together. Keeping his voice intact however, the mechanic looked up brightly, "I've heard about this place a lot from customers and then my friend here wanted to check it out."

"Yeah?" The waiter leaned to the side casually, crossing his arms with a raised brow, "Where do you work?"

"Kingsmen Mechanics," Arthur offered with a hint of pride, "it's my uncle's shop."

"Oh, hey, family business," the purple boy grinned brightly, pointing a thumb at his chest, "Same here! My parents own this place and I help out wherever I can." Looking at Vivi, he nodded, "what about you?"

"Tome Tomb," Vivi proclaimed happily, "I'm the assistant manager. It's a pretty cool place! You should check it out if you like books, we've got a lot of rare ones too that people just send us."

A spark of interest ignited in the waiters eyes, "Yeah? Ah, do you guys get in any manga volumes there by chance?"

Grinning, Vivi gave a nod, "Yeah! People bring them in sometimes. Are you looking for something specific?"

"Oh, well," the man laughed, shrugging with an embarrassed glance to the side. Quickly gaining his nerve back, he looked back with a soft smile, "I was thinking maybe shojo actually. Ah, sort of like Sailor Moon?"

Sitting up straighter, Vivi giggled out, "Actually, yes! We've got a few of those on the shelf! I can stash them away so you can have a chance to look at them before they're snatched. They go super fast when we have them."

"Oh," the purple boy sighed, visibly loosening up with a more relaxed smile, "that would be amazing. Thank you!"

"Sure thing," Vivi hummed, setting her arms on the table, "I can put them under a name too if you like? Just in case I'm not there when you come by."

Chuckling, the waiter gave a single nod, "Sure! I'm Lewis." With a smile, he added, "it's a pleasure to meet you guys."

"You too," the book girl declared happily, "and I'm Vivi, by the way!"

"Arthur," added the mechanic with a friendly nod. "If you ever need anything fixed, stop by the shop."

"I'll visit both," Lewis promised with a smile. "What about hobbies? Do you guys do anything for fun after work?"

"Weeeell," Vivi hummed, glancing over at her friend. She elbowed him not so casually, eliciting a smirk from the mechanic. He could see the game she was trying to play, and his shy nerves continued to try to play it cool.  _ Remember, don’t be the wrestler at a wedding party. _

"I mostly either tinker or play video games," Arthur explained with a thoughtful tilt of his head, "usually Smash Bros. Not to brag or anything, but I'm  _ pretty _ good at it."

"You know what character would be  _ so cool _ in Smash," Vivi snickered out mischievously. The book girl leaned closer to Arthur, a glint in her eye behind the purple glasses.

Snorting, Arthur gave her a teasing side eye, "Don't say--"

_ "Pyramid head," _ the girl interrupted, wiggling her fingers in an attempt to be menacing, "with his great knife? Oh MAN can you imagine the combos?" 

"Or," Lewis piped up with a laugh, "Sailor Jupitor. She could knock someone clear off the map." Both sets of eyes turned with wide interest at Lewis as he continued, "Mars or Saturn too! Those would look amazing with their magical flares. You could blind opponents just with their movesets."

_ "Yes," _ Vivi breathed excitedly, pumping her fists up and down in front of her as she leaned forward against the table.

"Alright well," laughed the mechanic, "you  _ both _ should be hired to work for Nintendo. I’d play Smash even more than I do now if we had all that going on."

A chorus of laughter from all three filled their nook of the building. It was a warm, genuine sound, one Arthur was completely content to be surrounded with. Something about it set him entirely at ease, and the boy couldn't hope to explain why. It felt… natural. It felt  _ right. _

"What about you, Lew," the girl piped up after they'd calmed down, "do anything fun after work?"

“Ah, well,” the waiter shrugged casually, “I like to read a lot and play video games on the rare occasion. Mostly I spend time with my little sisters and do whatever they like.” Laughing, Lewis shook his head with a fond sigh, “They’re a handful. Thankfully they like a lot of the same things I do so if I can wrangle them into something, it’s a lot easier.”

“Aww, that’s really sweet,” Vivi hummed, laying her cheek in a hand. With an inquisitive glance at Arthur, she said to the waiter, “What about getting out of the house? Are you into adventures?”

“I’m always up for an adventure,” Lewis laughed with a grin, his brow raised in interest.

“There she goes,” Arthur smirked good heartedly, reaching to take a sip of his water. He knew  _ exactly _ what Vivi was planning, and the mechanic wasn't exactly against it. Why not? It could be fun.

Sticking her tongue out at her friend, Vivi turned her attention back to the purple haired waiter, “Arthur and I also like to go ghost hunting in our free time.”

“Ghost hunting,” Lewis parroted with raised brows. The look of interest was all Vivi would ever need.

“Correction,” Arthur said, raising a finger before she could continue, “ _ Vivi _ likes going ghost hunting. I drive us and use the electronics.”

Crossing her arms, Vivi added smugly with a dramatic lean to the side closest to Arthur, “I drag him into the spookiest parts cause he’s a chicken.”

Arthur gasped in fake offense, looking at Vivi with his mouth agape, "I am not!"

"Are you sure," the book girl giggled teasingly with a sly sideway glance, "Mystery's favorite thing is chicken and he  _ sure _ does like you!"

Her words were met with a playful shove and another chorus of laughter. Shaking his head, Arthur looked up at the waiter with a grin, "Don't listen to her, she's antagonistic by nature."

“Well,” Lewis huffed with an intrigued grin, “that sounds like a lot of fun and  _ definitely _ an adventure.”

“It is,” Vivi happily confirmed, completely unphased by Arthur's previous remark, “We’re still trying to think of a name for us, but I know it’ll come to us eventually!”   


With a nod, Arthur crossed his arms on the table and leaned on them slightly, “Right now we’re just trying to find better wheels. I have an old beater we use but I’d rather keep it local. It’s pretty temperamental when we go out of town and I don’t want to risk getting stranded somewhere, y’know.” Pointing a thumb over his shoulder, the mechanic went on, “My uncle knows a guy who has a van that I’m trying to buy, but it’ll be a while yet since I do a lot of work for free unless it’s specialized.”

Lewis nodded along idly as the pair of them talked. With a hum, he gave a casual grin and raised his brow, “Well, how about picking up a second job if you’re not too busy? We could use someone to man the counter for us on the weekends.”

A second job? Arthur wouldn’t deny that he’d thought of that before, and it  _ would _ be beneficial for getting their van. Vivi took care of the equipment mostly, it was only fair for him to focus on the wheels when he was the one who drove them places. Humming thoughtfully himself, the mechanic glanced over at Vivi. She was grinning and gave him a nod of encouragement. Well, it wouldn’t hurt.

“Huh,” Arthur huffed, turning a small grin Lewis’s way, “you know, I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll run it by my uncle and see if he can afford to spare me.”

“Great,” Lewis beamed, uncrossing his arms to give him a thumbs up, “I’ll let my pops know we might have some help.”

“In return for helping us fund the van,” Vivi ventured, patting her hands to the table, “you’re welcome to join us on our hunts too!”

Arthur gave a nod, smiling as he did, “It’d be neat to have someone else on the team.”

With a clap of her hands, Vivi sounded off excitedly, “The more the merrier!”

Lifting his brows in surprise, Lewis adopted another grin. With a chuckle, the waiter leaned to his other side, “That… sounds like a lot of fun actually." After a thoughtful pause, the purple boy straightened up and puffed out his chest a bit. It faded quickly with a warm laugh, and Lewis tapped a finger on their table, "Yeah, alright, count me in.”

Vivi's chorus of cheers and Arthur's own snicker of approval accented his decision. The mechanic spared them both a glance, a smile permanently glued to his face. 

Yeah, Pepper Paradiso had been a good choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've taken some creative liberties obvs when it comes to headcanons, so since we haven't seen any official design or mention for Arthur's parents, I've made him an orphan taken care of by his uncle :V And Vivi also seemed super independent to me so she's the only one that owns (rents) a house hah!


	3. 'Cause At The Rate Times Keep Changing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Ain't got no money for the nice things  
>  I barely got enough for rent  
> Ain't got no clue 'bout where I'm going  
> Ain't making dollars  
> But at least I'm making sense_  
> T h e F u t u r e

_ Ouch!  _

Hissing quietly, Arthur reached up and scrubbed his hands through his hair vigorously. That shelf had  _ not _ been that close when he looked up last. In an instant there was a shadow beside him, and the mechanic gave a wavering laugh when a hand touched his back.

"I'm ok," he said, waving his hand as he rose to a stand, "promise. Not the first time I've banged my head and won't be the last."

"Well," Lewis huffed at his side under gently furrowed brows and a smile, "be careful! We can't be sending you home within your first week can we?"

Snorting, Arthur slid a hand down over his face and buckled into hard laughter, "Oh  _ god _ if I got sent home from getting hurt here, uncle Lance would laugh me out of the shop!"

Another bout of laughter joined him and the two boys took a second to straighten up. Lewis scooped the boxes he'd been carrying up and Arthur finished grabbed the smaller boxes he'd been aiming for. More careful not to hit his head, the mechanic weaved away from the shelf and casually followed the waiter toward the front of the store.

Time had passed since Arthur and Vivi's first visit to the family owned restaurant. They'd come in two separate times together since, usually stealing Lewis longer each visit as they talked back and forth, then Arthur came on his own to fill out an application. Lewis was glad to have him on the team after interviewing with both Mr. and Mrs. Pepper. The latter had first intimidated Arthur, but even so, the couple quickly accepted the boy into their ranks.

Arthur was just fine being there too. Though he'd never worked a customer service job quite like that one, everything came pretty easy for him. He'd handled multiple types of clientele at the shop, but not quite as diverse as he did at the restaurant. It was an easy job at the counter all things considered, it paid decently for the type of work, and the worst part about it was just finding things to do in the dead periods.

With how popular the Pepper's establishment was around town however, those dead periods were few and far between. Lewis and Mr. Pepper both took to teaching the mechanic the ropes, but he honestly didn't need more than two shifts to get it all down. Any questions he had, Arthur managed to either figure out on his own or grab one of them as they quickly walked by.

When there were no customers at the counter, Arthur was stocking the display pastry fridge and tidying up the front. He made sure things were in place and functioning, that product was never out of stock, and that guests got a grinning face every time they approached. He even helped tune up electronics and appliances in the back if they started acting funny.

During the times he had everything in order, Arthur would slip to the back and watch Mr. Pepper and Lewis work on the pastries. He learned that Lewis' father loved the pastry and cooking part of the business, a love he'd passed to his son, while Mrs. Pepper handled a lot of office work and ordering. She wasn't a shut in though and often came out to either lend a hand or watch the state of the place.

Though weary of her seeming cold exterior compared to her bright husband, Arthur learned quickly that she could be just as nice and soft. Mrs. Pepper often wore a stoic face and acted as such, but she genuinely loved her family and what she did. In that way, she reminded him a lot of his uncle.

In truth, working at Pepper Paradiso felt like he was working with another side of the family. Arthur was more than content with that, even when the days could get a little hectic. 

One bonus of working there at least was Arthur got shakes on the house. That was a silly little perk that made the rough days all worth it, especially when he got permission to grab an extra and bring it to Vivi. Even on her longest shifts at the book shop, a shake never failed to bring a smile to her face. 

Not only that, but Arthur had to admit that working with Lewis was nice too. While he stifled the feelings of a small crush under the weight of other things, getting to know the guy was a treat all the same. Lewis was such a sweet and caring person. His heart was firmly set with his family, and he could  _ always _ put a smile on a customer's face no matter how their mood had previously been. It was a talent Arthur was amazed by.

The boys would often chat when they crossed paths or wound up in the same station area, and they talked about anything under the sun. Arthur found out that Lewis had actually been adopted by the Peppers, and that he couldn't remember where he came from before he was at their doorstep as a young teenager. In turn, Lewis learned about the mechanic living with his uncle after the unfortunate crash in his childhood. They bonded over lost parents, but also strongly cherished love in found families.

"It's really sweet that you and Vivi are there for each other so much," Lewis mused with a kind smile.

Sparing him a quick glance, Arthur smiled himself and shrugged, "It's just how we are. She's like a sister to me. Has been since our school days."

Nodding fondly, Lewis hummed, "I can understand that."

There was a soft moment of silence before the waiter clapped Arthur on the back, grinning, "Well, family man! Let's see what else we can stock."

"Me the family man?" Arthur laughed as he trailed after the taller guy, "should look in the mirror, Lew!"

"Nah, see," the purple haired boy laughed with sincerity, "the minute you started working here, you became family too."

It was in that moment that Arthur was glad Lewis had his back turned. A flush of heat surfaced across his face, one he lifted a hand to try and quickly rub away. There were times Arthur would be totally fine around Lewis and he could act normal, but then there were other times he would either do something unconsciously or act especially nice to the mechanic and it would send Arthur mentally fumbling. He hid all physical reactions well except blushes, and even those he managed to keep just out of view.

Still, he couldn't help but internally sigh at himself. What a  _ pain _ . He had no idea how to even  _ approach _ Lewis about those types of feelings. Besides, in the moment, he was fine getting to know him more and more as the days went on.

And those days did go on. Days turned into weeks, weeks to months, and eventually half a year had passed by. 

By that time, Arthur had saved up a pretty penny from working every weekend diligently at the counter. He used his funds carefully, and he was so close he could practically  _ smell _ the van and its furnishings. The paranormal caravan would be theirs yet.

Money wasn't the only thing he had made though. Him, Vivi, and Lewis had steadily formed a strong friendship as the months went by. The three of them would get together after work after that first month and would take turns going to each other's houses. It wasn't an every night thing, but it slowly progressed to it being a weekly visit to each house. So about three of the seven days sort of deal.

When they went to Vivi's place, they often hung out reading or listening to each other tell scary or haunted stories they'd either heard or experienced themselves. It was a good time, and Lewis didn't seem to mind the fact that Arthur would hide behind him sometimes if Vivi decided to put on a scary movie. 

After that first visit, Mystery had taken to Lewis pretty quickly too.

Waving grandly to the small pooch once they'd entered her house, Vivi announced, "Meet the one and only Mystery Yukino!"

Ears perked up and curious, the black and white dog immediately trotted toward Lewis and sniffed at him while circling his legs. Vivi watched with a smirk and crossed arms, her entire small frame brimming with pride and confidence.

"Oh my god," Lewis laughed in delight as he watched the dog, "he has  _ glasses? _ That's so cool!"

Grinning in amusement, Vivi giggled and adjusted her own, "We're a matching set, him and I!"

"I love it," the waiter decided aloud. At that, Mystery stepped back once and wagged his tail happily at the boy. He seemed to give a nod of approval, then pushed his head into Lewis' waiting hands to be pet. Approved by the head hound, Vivi and Arthur both knew that he was good and worthy friend material.

Even though the dog clearly had a preference for Vivi, he spent equal time with both Arthur and Lewis when the three of them hung out. Mystery was basically immediately comfortable with Lewis, which in turn helped put all of them at ease. Mystery had good and sound taste as a dog, so he was found to be easily trustworthy for his canine opinions.

At the Kingsmen residence, the three of them would play video games together and take turns keeping an eye on Galahad as the hamster raced by their feet. When the three of them were sufficiently distracted, it was Mystery who would keep a watchful eye on the mischievous rodent. The too-smart of a dog was always allowed at Arthur's place.

When they weren't gaming, Arthur would show them projects he had going on and would even sometimes get wrapped up in working on one while the others watched. With enough convincing and talking about it, Lewis would even lend a hand with whatever Arthur needed in his tinkering. 

Vivi would always be amused off to the side when that happened, sitting nearby with Mystery at her side and usually the pesky Galahad near too. The wheeled rodent would chatter quietly, earning pets from Vivi as she watched the boys with a smirk.

It was especially funny when the hamster decided to steal a tool or bolt and take off with it. Watching two boys in their twenties chase a wheeled rodent never got old.

Then at the Pepper's house, the three of them never experienced a dull moment unless it was past Lewis' three sisters’ bed times. Both Arthur and Vivi liked the girls, but the sisters had a clear goal in tormenting Arthur the most. The mechanic took it in light hearted stride, often receiving apologetic looks from Lewis when he was the victim of a prank or getting randomly dog piled by the young girls. 

All in all, Arthur didn't mind.  _ The minute you started working here, you became family too. _ Everytime those words came to mind, Arthur couldn't help but smile. It was a nice thought to be part of another extended family.

And that's really what they slowly turned into over time. Arthur loved it.

One night while the three of them were at Vivi's house, brainstorming began. The trio had been discussing the future of their paranormal investigations since they were so close to getting a van, and Arthur had informed them that the van was white. It was perfect for decorating with whatever they liked. With that knowledge, Vivi had been insistent on them coming up with a name and logo for themselves.

"Okay okay," Vivi said, waving her hands in front of her, "how about this… how about the Three Mysketeers?"

Arthur nearly did a spit take in his Dr. Pepper, laughing after swallowing and setting the can down, " _ What?" _

"Oh come on, it's clever!" the book girl insisted. With Arthur continuing to give her an amused but unsure look, Vivi turned to look at Lewis for support. 

The waiter had a mixture of dumbfounded and amused expressions himself, and Lewis raised a hand to hide a grin that was fighting to rise, "I'll admit, it  _ is  _ clever!"

Squinting at the boys, Vivi crossed her arms and tilted her head in thought, "No, actually, we  _ can't  _ do that. Mystery has to be included besides just the adjective, he's our mascot. It's not three of us, it's four."

Beside Arthur, the dog flicked his ears upward and glanced over as he was mentioned. He gave a wide yawn, stretching his front paws with a tremble before settling back down beside the mechanic's leg. Seemed like he didn't have much of an opinion on the matter.

"So maybe," Vivi hummed, "the Mystery Quartet?"

"That sounds more like a music group," Lewis chuckled, "which, I'm not complaining, but it almost sounds like false advertising."

Pursing her lips together, the blue girl gave a huff, "No you're right. Hmm."

"Well, if you want to keep Mystery in the title but have it reflect paranormal," Arthur offered, reaching his hand to pet the dog's neck beside him, "how about something like… Mystery Ghouls?"

Vivi nodded vaguely, her eyes alight with interest, "That has promise, I like it!"

On Arthur's other side, Lewis straightened up and lightly smacked his fist into his palm, "Oh, how about the Mystery Skulls?"

Immediately Vivi's eyes widened. A beaming grin took over her face and she nodded, throwing her hands up, "Yes! That's it! We're the Mystery Skulls Gang!"

Snorting a laugh, Arthur shared a grin with Lewis as the two glanced at one another. The Mystery Skulls. Yeah, that sounded good for a paranormal group. Still almost sounded like a band name, but y'know, it'd work.

Once the name was decided, the trio began to doodle around for logos. It didn't take long before Arthur drew one up and Vivi added her own flare to it to make it perfect. 

"I'll cover the paint costs," Lewis promised once the finalized design was approved by all three.

When Vivi and Arthur looked up in surprise, the waiter simply grinned, "You've been working your tail off to get the van, Arthur, and you already buy the equipment, Vivi. It's the least I can do to help out too."

So it was decided that night that once the van had been procured and painted, the newly dubbed Mystery Skulls would set out on their official first ghost mission with their newest member joining them. All of them were excited for the adventure in their own right, and it was with heightened accomplishment that Arthur got his next paycheck and found his numbers were just what he needed.

As soon as he was off work, the mechanic raced over to the shop and got everything ready, including giving the seller a call to tell him he had the cash. Lance drove him over so he didn't have to leave his car, and Arthur could feel himself brimming with anticipation. It was an easy transaction that ended with payment in full and a hearty shake of the hand.

"Thank you so much," Arthur said earnestly to the burly old man, "it's just what me and my friends need."

"And she'll hold up as long as you take care of her," the fellow mechanic laughed, "she's got miles, but nothing a savvy guy like you can't outpace."

"Nope," Arthur agreed cheerily. "I'll take good care of her."

Once the title was transferred over and Arthur added the van to his insurance, it took everything he had not to speed race it all the way to Pepper Paradiso. He'd texted Vivi to meet him there after she got off, and it was approaching sunset by the time he pulled into the parking lot. 

Arthur all but jumped out of the driver's seat once he killed the engine and the mechanic set for jogging toward the front door. It opened with a friendly  _ ting _ he had grown used to, and saw Lewis and Vivi both staring in excitement from the nearby table they'd been waiting at. 

"Alright guys," the mechanic announced grandly. He motioned toward the door with a bright grin, exclaiming nearly out of breath, "your chariot to mystery and haunts awaits!"

Vivi was up and had her arms around him in an instant. Laughing giddily, her momentum sent Arthur spinning and laughing with her as she held him tight.

"Oh, Artie," the blue girl exclaimed, "this is it! We got our van! Oh thank you, thank you!"

Laughing himself and positively glowing, Arthur wrapped his friend in a tight hug. After working tirelessly to get the van, he had finally done it. Arthur may have been shaky on the whole ghost hunting thing, but he knew it made Vivi happy. He would do anything to see her smile, and he had to admit that even though he hated getting scared, some of the places they went were  _ really _ cool. 

And besides, Lewis had promised he liked ghost hunting too. If he could make his two greatest friends happy, then Arthur was doing his best in life.

The pressure around him increased and the mechanic looked up to see Lewis joining in on the hugging and laughing. Realizing just how close the waiter was, Arthur swore he was going to melt from the touch.

Instead of pushing the feeling away, Arthur relished it and let himself get lost in the embrace of his two closest friends. There were no worries, nothing, only happiness and excitement for the future. 

This.  _ This _ is what he wanted, and Arthur never wanted it to change.


	4. You Got Me Stuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I never knew  
>  Just what I wanted  
> I still don't know it's all the same  
> You're picking up  
> On what I started  
> And the truth is_  
> P a r a l y z e d

As promised, the next day Lewis showed up with cash in hand for paint. After all three of them were done with work, they went to the nearest hardware store and found the colors they wanted to use for the logo and van trim. It would be a task, but Arthur was always up for a challenge and projects of any kind. They already had an airbrush and other supplies at the shop, so he wasn't too worried about trying to go all out.

And so it began. While he and Lewis got everything set up in that regard, Vivi and Mystery slowly started moving things into the back of the van. It wasn't much to start -- extra blankets for late nights, sweaters for temperature drops, her trusty baseball bat, tripods for cameras -- but Vivi was so excited she had to do  _ something  _ to busy herself with their passion project.

Meanwhile Arthur created stencils and taped areas to begin work, while Lewis helped prepare all the tools he needed to get started. Vivi was mostly preoccupied by setting things up inside the van, but when she couldn't find anything else to do, she too helped with taping areas for paint prep. There was music, snacks, talking, and laughter mixed in with the sound of the air compressor for the airbrush during those work sessions. 

Things were on the right track for wild adventures for the newly dubbed Mystery Skulls.

A few days went by and Lewis had already headed home for the night when it was just Arthur and Vivi left at the shop. The blue girl was preoccupied with her phone off to the side from what the mechanic could tell, while Arthur was finishing up a strip of paint along the trim of the van. It still had about two days of good work to go before it was done, but the gang was happy with progress.

"Hey, Artie," Vivi idly called from where she lounged.

Taking his mask off, Arthur breathed in a little deeper and set it aside. As he picked up a rag to wring his hands of paint particles, the blond mechanic looked up curiously, "What's up?"

Vivi was looking at her phone with the tiniest frown, only to set it aside with a groan and drop her arms into her lap, "I might have a problem."

"Problem?" Arthur echoed. Setting the rag down, the mechanic moved over to flop on the cushion beside her with a huff, "What kind of problem?"

The girl pursed her lips together, a soft shade of pink touching her cheeks. Well, that was different. Vivi usually wasn't the blushing type. She reached up to adjust her tinted glasses, keeping her gaze from Arthur as she admitted, "I… I think I'm crushing on Lewis."

For a moment, Arthur felt a hollow chasm open up in his chest. Vivi crushing on Lew? That… that shouldn't be a problem. He should be happy for her, encouraging her to go after their friend or maybe say something, but… Arthur felt dumbstruck. 

It would have been easy to say something encouraging if the mechanic wasn't crushing too. His feelings, much to his dismay, had never really taken a back seat like he hoped they would. 

Ever since their first meeting, Arthur had butterflies being close to Lewis. He'd hoped it was just a quick aesthetic crush and instead focused on their building friendship as the months went on. While he'd been able to majorly ignore it, the feelings hadn't ever gone away. Granted he'd never acted on them, but he didn't know  _ how _ without accidentally shoving the waiter away.

And now with Vivi… what could he do? What  _ should _ he do? He knew the scripts to use, he knew what he wanted to say and what he  _ really _ wanted to say compared to that. 

Instead, Arthur kept his feelings down. Vivi needed  _ him _ , not his own feelings on Lewis. She needed her friend's help.

"I don't see that as a problem really," Arthur said with a gentle smile. His chest might have felt chilled, but it wouldn't stop him from supporting the book girl, "you said the day we met him that you thought he was cute."

Groaning dramatically, Vivi leaned back and pushed her hands under her glasses, "I know! I did! But I didn't think it'd go any further!"

With a half hearted smirk, Arthur reached out and gently shook her shoulder, "Aw come on Viv, you've never had a crisis over a boy before. I'm sure this'll be just fine."

"But he's our friend, Arthur," the girl pressed, lowering her hands. She turned an uncertain frown his way, shifting some of her hair away that had gotten messed up with her previous antics, "I don't want to say something and then… and make it  _ weird _ , you know?"

"I get you," promised the mechanic. And he did, oh boy did he understand. He had no idea how to approach Lewis on the topic of his feelings. Did the waiter even swing that way? Was Arthur being obvious or too guarded for Lewis to catch on? He had no idea  _ what _ to even do in that situation.

And then now with Vivi… oh what a mess. He wanted her to be happy but he wanted to be happy too. What should he do?

"Well," the mechanic breathed. Tilting his head, Arthur offered, "Wait and see how it goes for now, yeah? We've got a lot going on and we're about to go on our first hunt after a year. Let's see how we all take it, and then we can go from there."

Nodding along, Vivi huffed and leaned her head on her friend's shoulder with a sigh, "Yeah, that sounds fair. See if I'm just over excited for investigating again or not."

"Right," Arthur agreed, tilting his head to rest on hers. He closed his eyes, saying more to himself than to Vivi, "besides, is liking Lewis that bad?"

"No," the girl confessed, "I just didn't expect it."

It took all Arthur had not to deeply sigh at that.  _ Trust me, I understand. _

The two of them didn't discuss it further, but Arthur went to bed with it still heavy on his mind. He laid on top of his sheets that night, staring up at the ceiling fan with the idle sound of Galahad running in his hamster wheel in the background. The lights were out and sometimes in the distance, the road noise of tires would drift into the room. Even so, the mechanic paid none of it any mind.

All he could think about were Vivi’s words, and the way Lewis lit up when he grinned around them.

God, he was so lost. Arthur wanted to say something to their friend since his feelings hadn't faded, but now with Vivi admitting to him how she felt, it made things ten times harder. If he said something to Lew now without telling her, would that betray her trust? Would she take it badly, opening a rift between them? Could he ruin their long standing friendship by just telling another guy his feelings?

A deeply sighed groan escaped him and Arthur raised an arm to lay over his eyes. No… he didn't  _ think _ that would happen. He and Vivi had been through a lot together. A boy wouldn't get in the way of that, none ever had. The only problem was they had never gone after the same guy before. Would that be different? Arthur was sure that'd affect it in  _ some _ way. He just didn't know what, and any option sounded bad. He just couldn’t risk losing or hurting Vivi.

For the time being, the mechanic tried to take his own advice. He would wait until the investigation was done and see how it went from there. If Vivi didn't want to approach Lewis, then perhaps he would try his own luck. It couldn't hurt, right? She  _ did _ tell him that day to talk to him and he’d refused. Was that a mistake? Or maybe it was her telling him  _ go, try your luck! _

Growling at himself, Arthur flipped over and promptly shoved his pillow over his head to try and silence his thoughts. Though not very effective, the motion was slightly cathartic in it’s own right.

Even though that night had been restless, Arthur managed to work easily the next day both for his uncle and on the van. Work was  _ just _ distracting enough that he could put all his attention on something else rather than the deeper thoughts spinning around his brain. Lewis and Vivi were over and talking once late afternoon rolled around, with Arthur pitching in when he didn't have a paint mask on, and the day went relatively normal. 

The final day for paint came and Arthur stayed up later to perfect the finer details. Vivi had stayed longer to see it all done, but when the mechanic would glance over, the girl was passed out on the couch with her phone on her chest. Mystery, on the other hand, was wide awake and watching him ever curiously. Everytime Arthur would look, the dog would give a happy wag of his tail and the mechanic gave a smile in return. Something about Mystery always struck Arthur as  _ far _ too intelligent for a dog. Not that any of them really minded.

When the last layer of paint was laid down, Arthur set the airbrush down and stepped back a few paces. He marveled at his work, grinning beneath the mouth mask at the mural. It was simple, but it was  _ theirs.  _

Turning to look at Mystery, the boy gave a grin as he took his mask off, "What do you think, boy?"

A normal dog would likely just wag their tail and pad over all excitedly because he was talked to. Mystery, however, was not a normal dog. His keen eyes sparked to attention, turning to look at the paint job intelligently.

With a wag of his tail, Mystery managed a canine grin and gave a nod. He barked once, softly, in approval and it was all Arthur needed to grin wider.

"Awesome," he laughed, pointing a thumb to Vivi, "let's wake her then."

The mechanic excitedly rushed over to give Vivi a gentle shake, Mystery helping by biting her sleeve and giving it a tug. The girl was confused and a touch irritable at being disturbed, but that quickly changed when Arthur told her why. She all but lunged up afterward, snapping awake and adjusting her glasses from the crookedness of sleep. Once Vivi caught sight of the vehicle accented by her friend’s grand motion toward it, she grinned and gasped at the finished product.

Once white, the van sported a friendly sunset orange gradient hue. Their logo and newly adopted name was stenciled on the side, bordered by darker patches of orange crackling around it. All in all, the week-long project had turned out  _ fantastic. _

“Arthur,” Viv laughed enthusiastically, clenching her fists in excitement, “it’s  _ perfect! _ ”

Beaming with pride, the mechanic crossed his arms and lifted his chin. He attempted a dully modest tone, eyeing the van from the corner of the eye, “It’s not a masterpiece, but--”

“Oh hush,” Vivi chided, eliciting a laugh from her friend, “perfect I said!” 

With a wider grin, Arthur fished in his pocket and took out his phone. He beckoned Vivi closer and hugged her to his side, raising the phone up to catch their faces and the van behind them, “Let’s show Lew, he’ll see when he wakes up!”

Giggling in delight, Vivi nodded, “Good idea!”

Both of them threw on grins and Vivi even posed a peace sign, and the two of them quickly took the photo. Arthur sent it to both her and Lewis, pleased with his work for the evening. It was true that he lost one more demanding distraction because of it, but the completion of a project offered enough satisfaction to keep him happy for the night. 

Besides, when Arthur went in the next morning to the restaurant for his shift, he was quickly greeted by a Lewis who was nearly as excited as Vivi had been the night before. They chattered on and off about their official hunt in the van, and while Arthur wasn't exactly a ghost enthusiast, he liked hearing both Lewis and Vivi talk about things they loved.

And so, when the following weekend arrived, the trio were rearing and ready to head out for their first official investigation. At least, that was the plan. Arthur and Lewis had one more evening shift to do, and then the gang would head out early the next day to start their journey. 

The location was an abandoned hospital located in a smaller town out in the middle of nowhere, filled with reports of strange sightings and shadow beings. It was right up Vivi's alley. She had picked it out special for their first trip, and Arthur nervously agreed while Lewis just seemed excited to try something new.

He wasn't sure what possessed him, but the night before they left, Arthur fought the strongest urge to speak to Lewis. To  _ really _ talk to him. He had wanted to wait like he told Vivi, but every time he saw the waiter that night, there was a heaviness in his chest and a pressure at the back of his throat calling him to  _ speak _ . Maybe he was worried if he never spoke up, then he would certainly lose Lewis to the charming girl that was his oldest friend. Arthur felt incredibly guilty for that line of thinking, but he had to try. At least once.

All the same, his nerves were on high wire between worrying about Vivi's reaction to him going behind her back, and then Lewis's for maybe offending him somehow. Lew was an accepting guy, so even if he wasn't gay, bi, or pan, he wouldn't shun Arthur just on principle? Right?

That was the hope anyway.

So that evening, after a lot of mental building to convince himself to even utter the right words, Arthur bit the bullet. The two of them were wrapping up for the night, doing finishing cleaning and stocking in preparation to shut down. The store was closed, so no guests were around to witness them moseying about.

As Arthur set down a stock of to-go cups on the counter, he peered over the cleaned surface to watch Lewis sweep around the tables. His heart was  _ racing _ and his hands were trembling, and it took all the effort of the universe not to have the shake pass into his voice.

"So Lew," he called as casually as possible. Once the waiter looked up, Arthur went on, eyes down on the cups he was sorting, "have you ever been the dating type? You hang out with Viv and I all the time but I've never heard a partner come up."

Laughing gently, Lewis gave a small shrug as he paused, "Oh, not particularly? I've always been real nervous if someone approaches me about it." There was a split second when Arthur looked up and noticed a meek smile on the purple boy’s face, "My parents ask me a lot when I'm going to settle down. I tell them I'm just fine looking after my sisters!"

A soft laugh of his own bubbled up and Arthur nodded, "Hey man, that's as fair as any reason. They're cute but they really do get wild sometimes."

"You have no idea," Lewis laugh-groaned out, shaking his head. Still, he smiled as he added, "but you gotta love them. They often remind me that I'm not  _ actually _ their dad and just their older brother, so I shouldn't be using it as an excuse."

Nodding along, Arthur paused when he realized he was all stocked up.  _ Damnit _ . Unable to keep his hands idle, he grabbed the nearest rag and went to deep cleaning the upper shelf behind the counter. He was desperately trying to figure out how to continue the conversation after the pause hit, his pulse pounding in his ears, when a voice spoke up. 

"Still," Lewis was saying, "if I did go for anyone, I think nerds are pretty cute. Shared interests and stuff, right?"

With a glance over the counter, Arthur gave a smile, "Oh absolutely. I'm not sure I could go with anyone that didn't share my PhD in nerdiness."

Snorting, Lewis raised a hand to his mouth and  _ laughed _ . The sound made Arthur grin wider and sent some of his nerves melting away like fog beneath sun rays. He joined in seconds after, and the two took a moment to bathe in the sound.

"That is the best explanation I've ever heard," the waiter chuckled. Shooting a finger gun his way, Arthur dipped back down to his cleaning.  _ Smooth. _

A soft flush of red bloomed across the mechanic's cheeks but he paid no mind, hiding it under the shadow of the counter. This was… a good start. Any further questions were delving deeper and deeper into dangerous territory, and he was scared the good feeling wouldn't last for long.

"So of course I have to ask," Arthur went on, riding a wave of bravery for all he could as his hands kept shaking and eyes stayed down, "seen anyone that matched  _ your _ nerd degree or nah?"

There was a moment of silence, and it took massive self restraint not to look up when he wasn't given an immediate answer.  _ Don't blow it, you're almost there, just give him a second. Come on you haven't talked to a guy since middle school! _

Finally there was a laugh, and that time Arthur couldn't help but peer over the counter. Breathing in, Lewis turned to him with a raised brow and a smirk, "I know what you're doing, Arthur."

No statement had ever paralyzed the boy so quickly, "Y-you do?"

"Oh yeah." Snickering, the waiter shook his head and rubbed a hand over his hair. He looked nervous,  _ shy _ , and for a moment Arthur wondered if Lewis had truly caught on. Turning his eyes to him, Lewis went on, "You're trying to set me up with Vivi, aren't you?"

All the nerves from before slammed back to the forefront, then immediately dropped into the hollow of his chest. Lewis _hadn't_ caught on. He'd caught on to the _completely_ _wrong_ thing. Of course, how could Arthur be so stupid? He wanted to sink, to fall down behind the counter and lay on the floor, to tug the cups he had just neatly set up and send them toppling over him just as disastrously as that plan had gone. No, _no,_ that's _not_ what he'd been trying to do…! And yet…

He should have known better. 

For a split second, Arthur thought of denying it. He thought of saying  _ no, I was actually thinking of someone els _ e. He thought of telling Lewis straight out that he had feelings for him, that the urge to take his hand on nights when they sat close was  _ ridiculously _ strong. That Arthur had never felt this strongly about someone before, and the closest thing had been a quick school boyfriend. That he just… was too scared to say anything.

Everything in him wanted to spew it all out.

But he couldn't. He just… couldn’t.  _ Fuck it. _

Forcing out a laugh, a nervous one, Arthur gave a grand shrug and dipped behind the counter. He pressed his forehead hard to a support beam, squeezing his eyes shut tight as he kept up a fake tone of surprise, "Aha, oh, yeah! I… you caught me. Here I thought I was being clever."

"You were," Lewis promised, laughter in his voice from beyond the counter, "don't feel bad. I… I probably caught on quicker than you expected."

Cracking his eyes open, Arthur stared miserably at a neat stack of plastic forks, "Yeah?"

"Ah, yeah…" The waiter's voice trailed off, ending in a soft sigh, "Truth is, I've liked her for a while now. I've just been too scared to say anything."

Arthur wanted to disappear. He didn't want to be there for one more moment, he didn't want that  _ weight  _ on his entire being from hearing this. Not only had Vivi confessed to him, but  _ Lewis _ had too. The object of his secret affections… and Lewis never saw him. 

"I can't blame you," Arthur quietly laughed out loud. And he couldn't. Had Arthur not been interested in men, he probably would have tried to win Vivi over himself. Maybe. It was so ingrained that she was his friend and sister, it was hard to think of her as anything else. Closing his eyes, he added, "she's an amazing girl."

"She is," Lewis agreed wistfully. Arthur wanted to be sick. He felt  _ awful _ for reacting this way when his two closest friends could be happy together, but that one voice in the back of his head insisted  _ I should be happy too.  _ He didn't want his friends to feel that way for each other.  _ Arthur _ wanted to get the guy for once.

His thoughts were broken by a shyly spoken, "Has she… said anything about me?"

Arthur paused.  _ I might have a problem _ . Vivi's words spun in his head on repeat, and Arthur had to bite his lip against them. What should he say? Telling Lewis would seal the deal, would basically be setting them up for a date right then. He didn't want to lie, he wasn't that type of person, but...

For a moment, his misery manifested into pettiness and he didn't want to do anything else.

And so, Arthur breathed in a deep, silent sigh and slowly lifted up from his knees. Putting on the best smile he could to mask his heartache, the mechanic said, "No, but I wouldn't really worry about it." Waving his hand in a shrug, he added, "If you're too scared right now, wait until after our investigation. That way that's done and we can all focus on other things."

Lewis looked up, offering him what the mechanic saw as the softest, most grateful smile, "Thank you, Arthur. I… I might."

Arthur wanted to break. He felt so  _ horrible _ . Lewis looked so happy with that answer that… he couldn't bear to possibly put himself in the way. He didn’t need Arthur confessing his feelings when he was already so happy with the idea of being with Vivi. Anything would just complicate the situation, and Arthur just rather keep it simple. 

Simple… right. Like anything related to him could be that.

Just like when Vivi had brought it up to him, nothing more was said on the matter. Arthur stayed relatively quiet after that, only talking if he was spoken to or responding to an open question. He was able to finish his closing duties shortly after, bidding the Peppers a goodnight as he clocked out.

The mechanic was on his way to the door, when, "Hey Arthur!"

Looking back curiously, he watched Lewis approach with that soft smile again. Holding a hand out, he said sincerely, "Thanks for the encouragement. It means a lot."

Was it too late to take it back?  _ Shut up, do you not see how happy he is?  _ Smiling tiredly back, Arthur reached out and squeezed his hand, "Hey, don't worry abo- _ oof!" _

Before he knew it, Arthur was trapped in a warm bear hug. He paused, heart lunging up into his throat as he tried to get his senses back on what was happening. Right, Lewis was a hugger,  _ move dammit this might be the last time he does this! _

Swallowing dryly, Arthur returned the hug far harder than he probably should have, but Lewis didn't falter or seem to mind. He held on tightly, wishing for a moment that the hug never had to end. Maybe if it never stopped, he’d never have to face what was surely to come. Either way, Arthur loosened as soon as he felt Lewis start to, and the guys gave a wave to one another to bid each other goodnight.

Lewis’s grin lit up his drive home as the waiter called, "See you in the morning!"

The morning. Ah, yeah... the investigation.

Once he was home, the mechanic simply went through the motions of feeding Galahad, undressing to his boxers, and turning off the lights. Lance was already asleep so he didn't have to face his uncle with his misery, and honestly Arthur was just fine with that. He'd see him in the morning anyway.

The boy stared at his bed for a hard moment, the shadows of his frown made deeper by the lack of light in his room. Would time stand still if he simply didn’t move? Probably not. He’d just lose whatever precious sleep he could possibly get if he stayed up anyway. With a world heavy sigh, Arthur dropped into his sheets face first and hugged his pillow tight.

He had blown it. Absolutely blown it. Sure he didn't lose Lewis or Vivi as a friend, but he had completely lost his own chance at Lewis. What's worse, he had solidified it by telling them  _ both _ to talk to each other after the investigation. Now he didn't even want to go ghost hunting at all. Maybe he was being too dramatic, but in that moment, nothing felt more heart wrenching then setting up his own failure. Never in his life had Arthur felt so  _ stuck. _ What's worse, it was by his own doing.

_ Oh, Kingsmen. Always have to be the knight in shining armor for others problems. When will yours come along? _

Nothing but silence and distant road noise greeted that thought. Yeah… sounded about right. With another heavy sigh, Arthur tucked the pillow around his head and willed the sound of Galahad scuffling about to lull him to sleep instead of his own thoughts.

It was a long night. 


	5. Baby, I Don't Know What I'm Gonna Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _  
> Lately, all I think about it's you  
>  Baby, I don't know what I'm gonna do  
> And you got, you got me beggin' please_  
> F a n t a s y

Morning came both from the sound of Arthur's alarm and his uncle moving about the house. After suffering from a long night of thoughts that were tiring in their own right and fitful sleep, the last thing the mechanic wanted to do was get up.  _ Come on man… we've got a long day ahead. _ It took two snoozes and a good morning text from Vivi before Arthur managed to slowly drag himself out of bed. 

Half an hour later and Arthur had his overnight bag packed and ready to go. As he walked out of his room into the kitchen, he noticed Lance was there finishing off his coffee and about to leave himself. The younger mechanic sensed more than saw his uncle do a double take, and his hunch rang true when the shorter man spoke.

"Jeez lad," Lance huffed out, "did you sleep at all last night?"

Glancing over, Arthur gave a halfhearted smile and shrugged, "I'm not sure. I think I did at some point."

A frown creased the older man's features and Lance watched him for a moment longer with badly hidden concern, "Up late researching your route or has your uh… spirit hunting or whatever driven you to be too wired?"

While Arthur finished preparing his oatmeal, the younger mechanic sighed. If only it were either of those. He  _ was _ nervous about getting spooked or encountering something malicious, but it was the least problematic thing on his mind for the moment.

"Nah, just… just working things out and all," he finally said. "I'll be fine."

"Huh." Keeping his frown, Lance downed the rest of his coffee just as his nephew sat down. The older man stood and gave him a heavy pat on the shoulder as he walked by, saying, "Well lad, don't drive tired. Make one of the other two take over if you have to."

Gaining a small smirk, Arthur nodded and waved bye to his uncle as he left, "I will. See you tomorrow night."

Within moments, the house was silent and all his own. Nothing but Arthur and his thoughts reigned, aside from an occasional buzz as Vivi texted him or the group chat the three had made. He tried not to focus on his internal turmoil too much, knowing if he did, he'd just look  _ worse _ and evoke questions and concerns from his friends. No, the day was to be enjoyed, not used for mulling over hurt feelings he'd only managed to inflict on himself. The last thing he wanted was to be the center of attention and try to explain  _ those _ answers.

So with a deep sigh, Arthur finished his breakfast and quickly cleaned up after himself. He told Galahad goodbye after feeding the little hamster, then the mechanic was off to pick up Vivi.

The girl met him at the door hardly before he could knock. Swinging the door open, Vivi greeted him with a bright grin only to pause.

"Woh," Vivi breathed, raising a brow at him, "You alright Artie? Were you up all night worrying?"

Damnit. Reaching up to scrub at his neck, Arthur shook his head and avoided her eye, "Nah, nah. Just had a hard time sleeping."

"You didn't load up on an energy drink," Vivi asked in a near chiding tone as she tried to catch his gaze, "did you?" 

"No," the mechanic tiredly laughed, allowing their eyes to meet, "I promise, I'm fine."

For the time being, Vivi let the subject drop. Mystery was at her side, poking his head out the door and looking up at the mechanic with what he could only derive as uncertainty. Even as Arthur knelt down to scrub the thick fur behind his ears, Mystery leaned into the touch and watched him from the corner of his eye.  _ Don't go worrying about me too, boy. That's three today already. I don't need Lew to notice too... _

Without much further discussion, the mechanic helped his friend pack in their equipment for the night as well as snacks for the road. The physical activity helped him feel a little better, especially since Vivi was happily talking to both him and herself about what they were to expect after getting there. 

When everything was loaded and secure, Vivi and Mystery joined him in the front of the cab. Vivi was practically bursting with excitement, looking all around the interior of the van and getting herself adjusted with it for the long run. Arthur couldn't help but smile.

Next stop was the Peppers’ house. As the van pulled up, Vivi swiftly shot Lewis a text to let him know they had arrived. To each of their soft surprise, the waiter came out with a small cooler of soft drinks and small homemade meals for the trip. From the gesture alone, a good potion of Arthur's stagnant mood ebbed away. He couldn't blame Lewis or Vivi for their feelings. They couldn't help it, and he couldn't rightfully hold it against them.

Lewis took up the passenger seat when it was all said and done, having Vivi sit in the middle as the smallest and Mystery settling in the back. Even though Arthur had been quietly dreading the trip since his botched confession last night, he had to admit that in the moment with all of them together, it was hard to not be excited. He was about to spend two days with his best friends, how could he  _ not? _

Sure his mood shifted back and forth, but he managed to mask it under the pretense of being the driver and needing to focus. At least, he would have if anyone asked. Thankfully they didn't. 

It was a long drive, but it didn't feel nearly as long as it could have. They left Tempo behind in the dusty roads of highways, accenting their leaving by chatting excitedly about what was to come. Vivi of course was the most excited, this was  _ her _ thing and it always had been, but Lewis was stoked and Arthur grinned their way in acknowledgement when need be. 

Singing was their next distraction, that and laughter when someone either botched up the radio lyrics or made the song way too dramatic. With the laughter and tunes, Arthur slowly felt the sting of the previous night melt away. He knew it wouldn't disappear, but the less he felt it, the more he could enjoy both of his friends’ company unhindered.

At one point the trio stopped off to eat lunch. They pulled off on the shoulder, opening the back doors and sat together in the back. It was a fun little picnic style, and it also gave Mystery a chance to stretch his legs and Arthur a moment to look away from the road.

Re-energized, the gang continued their adventure shortly after. Arthur carefully watched the mile markers and signs, and it was just about sundown when the crew approached their destination. When they entered the town, it was clear they were in the right place. Dated buildings lined the main street, some decrepit looking while others kept in finer shape. The place had once been booming with oil business but during the Great Depression, it had fallen apart. Not quite a ghost town, the place still gave off a similar, near eerie vibe.

Vivi was in love from the beginning. She leaned forward with the biggest grin to see everything, giggling, "Oh man this is going to be  _ amazing. _ The town is scenic for it and everything!"

Laughing and trying to mask his bubbling anxiety, Arthur reminded, "Let's get our room first, eager beaver."

A small hotel room had been rented so they didn't have to camp in the van, and thankfully the building wasn't hard to find. Vivi quickly went to check them in once they arrived, leaving Lewis and Arthur behind to smirk at one another.

"Excited?" Arthur asked, sitting behind the wheel idly.

Lewis nodded with a laugh, "Definitely. And very curious."

With their sleeping arrangements fully taken care of, the last thing they did before heading to the location was fill up the gas tank. Lewis volunteered when they pulled in, and Arthur obliged happily with the chance to use the bathroom instead. It was a truck stop, so thankfully the accommodations weren't ghastly.

Once that was done, Arthur went about idly looking for anything last minute they needed for the investigation. Vivi joined him soon after, the two of them browsing the small electronics isle that they mostly had for truckers, when a shadow appeared beside them.

"And where are you two characters off to?" a scratchy voice queried. Arthur looked up, seeing an old woman just a little bit taller than Vivi watching them.

"We're just stopping in," Vivi pleasantly responded, "we're actually going ghost hunting next door."

With a laugh, the older woman shook her head, "I should have known. That place draws in all the interesting crowds to investigate."

The pair gently laughed themselves, giving one another a smirk. When Arthur looked back however, he noticed the older woman giving him a near scrutinizing stare. A feeling of unease swept over him as she did, and he barely managed to croak out, "Something wrong, ma'am?"

"I would keep an eye on your friend, young lady," the older woman warned, letting her gaze return to Vivi as she ignored his question.

Arthur jumped, looking at her in confusion. Keep an eye on him? What? What did he do to warrant  _ that? _

"What," Vivi echoed his thoughts, "why?"

Looking directly at him, the woman held a strong, nearly intimidating gaze as she explained, "He has a lot of negativity about him that's settled in his aura. He could be easily targeted by a malevolent entity because of it."

A chill of unease crept up Arthur's spine. Easily… targeted? _Malevolent_ _entity?_ What an encouraging thing to hear _right before_ an investigation. If Arthur had managed to suppress any nerves, they all-too-gleefully came surging back. He had been trying so hard to keep his emotions in check the whole ride there. Were they… was _he_ suddenly a danger to the group? To _himself?_ Was he that transparent?

"Oookay," Vivi hummed out, offering a grin that was too tight, "I'll do just that. He'll be fine. Thanks for the concern, but we left the van running so we need to go!" 

While saying the last sentence, Vivi turned and took the mechanic's hand, giving a squeeze as they went to leave the store. Under her breath, she whispered, "Don't worry too much about it. You have two people with you at all times, plus Mystery, you'll be fine."

All Arthur managed was to nod and gain a shaky smile, squeezing her hand back. Right… he'd be fine. Vivi was the bravest person he knew, she would be able to handle any malicious spirits that came their way before one even latched onto them. The lady was just… being cautious. Still. It wasn't encouraging to hear his emotions or past could compromise him. Arthur vowed to be strictly aware of that.

And who was that woman to make such assumptions anyway? For all he knew, she was just a local trying to scare the "interested crowds" away.

Back at the van, Lewis was already inside and greeted them cheerily as they returned. Momentarily put at ease by being around them all and  _ away _ from whoever that had been, Arthur took them the rest of the way to their destination.

Like the hotel, the old hospital wasn't hard to find. Masked partially by trees and bathed in the light of the dying sun, it gave off an unsettling feeling even off the main street. Vivi was practically bouncing in her seat. Broken windows, old red brick, and a keep out sign plastered right by the door that was heavily padlocked. Yep, this was the place.

As they pulled off to park, the gang managed to catch the last few minutes of sunlight to get ready. Vivi lunged out and quickly called Mystery to her, waving to the boys as she did, "Mystery and I are going to go talk to the caretaker. Be right back!"

Arthur waved her off and motioned for Lewis to follow. Looking a little unsure, the purple boy asked as he followed, "Is she ok to go by herself?"

Smirking knowingly, the mechanic nodded, "She'll be fine. Vivi's a lot tougher than she looks. Plus, she has Mystery and he won't let anything happen to her."

The answer seemed to be sufficient enough. While Vivi went to get the key, the boys clambered into the back and gathered the equipment for the night. Camera equipped with night vision and extra batteries, EVP recorders, energy recorders, a spirit box, and a thermal camera were all grabbed from where Vivi had stashed them as well as a GoPro. 

Laughing, Lewis shook his head at it all, "This is so much! Vivi got  _ all _ this?"

Setting up a camera for his personal use, Arthur looked up, "Yep. Mostly from bonuses and tax returns."

"Wow," Lewis laughed out, "she goes all out."

"Funny thing is," Arthur huffed as he flipped through settings, "we don't even use all of this for normal investigations. Vivi likes to use as little gear as possible, but this place has so many activity reports that she wanted to bring the big guns. Plus she likes having it on hand, just in case."

After making sure his camera was good to go, Arthur stood by Lewis and showed him how to operate the thermal camera. He had to fight the annoying warmth up his back and on his face for standing so close, but he'd rather that than negative feelings.  _ He has a lot of negativity about him that's settled in his aura, _ the lady had warned. Hiding a frown, Arthur shoved her words away and any other raw feelings he may have. No, not right now. Not tonight.

Once the boys had everything unloaded, Vivi came trotting back around with Mystery at her heels. The girl waved around a small keyring, a wide grin lighting up her face as she announced in a singsong voice, “Guess who got the ticket insiiiide!”

Looking up, Lewis gave her a grin, "Nice!"

Shooting her a thumbs up from where he stood, Arthur finished getting his camera rig ready. Vivi came over to grab the GoPro and the smaller things; one of the EVP recorders and the spirit box, setting up the GoPro on her shoulder since she was leading the group. Once they were all situated, it was time to go in.

The lock released with a hushed  _ click _ , and Vivi giddily opened the doors underneath the last bit of sunlight. She let out a low whistle of admiration, stepping inside with the rest of the Mystery Skulls at her back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter chapter! During the writing process this and chapter 6 were meant to be one chapter but 6 got WAY more content that I anticipated so I had to cut it up. 
> 
> Also, funfact! The place they're investigating is based on a real place :D Check out the Yorktown Memorial Hospital in Texas for a sneak peek into what they're getting into!


	6. And The Worlds Are At Our Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _'Cause we'll keep driving day and night  
>  On the run, stay alive, is this for real?  
> Thought I told you, stop fucking with me_  
> T o l d Y a

Immediately the energy shifted from that of the outside. The building was  _ dark _ and decayed, dust and dirt alike tracked through the place. Items were scattered about, aged and decrepit, as if everything had either been left in a hurry or dug out with no regard. The very air inside the place felt heavy, charged with a thick and near-smothering cold quality to it. It was almost like the facility was filled to the brim with people, but the only souls in sight were the Mystery Skulls. Arthur shuddered at the feeling, turning his camera on and frowning through the eyepiece. Oh yeah,  _ this _ place felt safe.

Vivi however was completely enraptured. With Mystery at her side, the girl led them onward carefully with a flashlight as they inspected everything from doors, tables, and hallways. Lewis looked pretty collected, his eyes flipping between the thermal screen and the path ahead constantly as they went. Once again, Arthur remained the anxious one of the investigation. He doubted that dynamic would ever truly change.

Turning on a recorder, Vivi held it close as she spoke and walked, "Hello everyone, my name's Vivi Yukino. I'm here with my friends to talk to you. We mean you no harm, we just wanted to look at the place and see if anyone wanted to say hello while we're here. At any time, please speak to us out loud or through our cameras and recorders. We'd very much appreciate it! Thank you!"

She remained quiet for a moment longer, then called everyone to pause with a quick hand motion. All of them stood still, then looked at one another wide eyed as the sound of footsteps faintly echoed from down the hall they'd come from, then once again above.

Mouthing excitedly, Vivi pointed around with her eyes alight,  _ "Did you hear that?" _

The boys nodded, Lewis more intrigued and Arthur with nervous excitement himself. He hated being scared, but proof was always fascinating.  _ Plus _ they likely caught that on camera. Vivi was going to have a field day with the evidence.

As they walked, the group randomly paused at different sounds through the facility. Distant, vague voices often came through, footsteps were pretty popular, and Arthur had to contain a shriek when a door they were about to walk by slowly crept open. He settled for a strained, quiet whine instead as his heart raced.

Vivi turned to it immediately, holding the evp recorder out as she did, "Is someone there? Could you close the door you opened, please?"

Lewis tracked the thermal camera on it and Arthur had his lense aimed. With all three cameras focused on the door, they waited. Vivi asked again after a moment, but as a minute passed, nothing happened. 

"I think it's shy, Viv," Arthur breathed with a hint of a laugh. 

"We're just too intimidating," Lewis agreed with a smile.

Nodding to herself, Vivi gave a shrug and moved onward, “Guess so! Come talk to us when you get the courage!”

With one last cautious glance toward the door, Arthur quickly tailed behind the others as they passed it. Activity seemed to slow down after that, if for a moment, giving Arthur the chance to make wider area shots of the building. The entire place was creepy and he didn't even need to hear anything to get the haunted vibe. It did that all on it's own.

Eventually the group approached a set of doors. Vivi stood beside them and hovered her hand near, turning to look at the guys with a giddy grin, "This is the chapel area. Here and upstairs above it is where everyone says the most activity happens."

Lewis cast an intrigued look Arthur's way, to which the mechanic lifted his head from the eyepiece and gave a nervous smile back. More activity.  _ Oh boy _ .

The doors opened, and Vivi and Mystery spearheaded the investigation inside. Lewis followed cautiously with Arthur behind him, and the mechanic took a look around. He followed the sweep of Vivi's flashlight beam, taking in the abandoned pews and pulpit further ahead. There was something about the energy in there that felt… different. Arthur didn't like it.

"Man, I can see why people say it's active in here," Arthur murmured, "the entire air in here feels differaAH!"

Yelping in shock, Arthur swung around and crashed into the closest thing near him. He hissed at the collision of something solid to his lower back, only to have something else softer plant sturdily against his shoulders.

"Woah, woah," Lewis eased, and when the mechanic looked up, he was right beside him, "what is it?"

Vivi and Mystery both looked over wide eyed, "Yeah what happened?"

"I," Arthur breathed, shaking his head, keeping a death grip on the camera rig, "I don't know! It felt like something-- like someone grabbed my pant leg and pulled."

Lewis was looking at him in wonder, only to promptly lean around and look around at the ground. Mystery trotted over too, his ears forward and keen eyes observing below the pews. 

"Wow," Vivi breathed, pulling up a grin a second later, "contact! I told you this place was active!'

"I wish it wasn't exactly active toward  _ me," _ the mechanic bemoaned pathetically. He'd rather  _ not  _ be the one targeted. The shock from that provided enough cardio for a week!

Mystery looked up at him with a small snort, and something about his eyes told Arthur that he'd found nothing. Lewis too stood up straight, and it was in that moment that Arthur realized the waiter had his arm around him as support from when he'd tripped. Well, he felt a little safer…

Quick hands flashed into action and Vivi raised her recorder, calling out, "To whomever grabbed my friend, speak into this recorder or a camera! Why did you touch him? Do you want our attention? You have it, so talk to us."

With bated breath, the group stood around for a minute and waited. Arthur tried his darndest to get his heart rate to slow, but it stayed at a steady, slightly faster pace -- especially since Lewis hadn’t decided to release him quite yet. After Vivi sighed an unsure hum however and started walking, the waiter gave Arthur a gentle pat on the back and slid his arm away. Lewis resteadied his camera and followed, and Arthur was left to get his breath back and hoist his own rig back up. Whatever that had been, he hoped to  _ never _ feel it again or worse, see it.

They'd only taken a few more steps when Lewis suddenly stopped.

"Woah, guys," he whispered, waving a hand. The mechanic leaned around him, noticing his eyes were looking back and forth between the thermal and a door along the wall rapidly, "there's something weird going on. Shine the light on the door over there."

Curiously, Vivi did so and backed up to be closer to them. The beam landed on nothing but the floor and the wall, but there were definitely some abnormal heat signals coming from the thermal.

"It almost looks like someone is standing there," Vivi whispered in wonder. Lifting her head, she called louder, "hey, is there someone by the door over there? Did you grab my friend a minute ago?"

Lewis and Arthur both kept their eyes trained on the thermal, only to gasp in unison as the heat signal shifted. It slowly dissolved across the door, settling back into the atmospheric cools of the chapel. 

"Someone  _ really _ doesn't want to talk to us," Lewis laughed, looking up between them.

Planting her hands on her hips, Vivi pulled an exaggerated pout, “How rude!” Huffing, she gave the smaller device she was holding a tentative shake, “well, as far as we know. We’ll have to watch our footage and listen to the audio to be sure! They may be talking to our devices instead.”

“Fair point,” the waiter hummed in amusement.

The group did a little bit more scoping around in the chapel before Vivi decided it was time to try upstairs. As they were headed out, Lewis slowed his pace to fall into step beside the mechanic. He whispered quietly as he did, ducking his head a little, “You alright now?”

Surprised and quietly touched, Arthur gave a nod with a small, anxious smile, “Yeah. Still a little freaked out but that’s normal in these places.”

Chuckling quietly, Lewis nodded and gave him an encouraging smile, “Don’t worry. We’ve got your back.”

More grateful than he could process at that moment, some of the anxiety slipped from Arthur’s smile as he nodded back. He breathed in deeply, quietly, and focused on following them more closely. 

In the end, that was a solid plan. The investigators slowly stuck closer together as they went up to the next floor, trying to stay near in case anything out of the ordinary happened. Thankfully those actions didn’t slow down the activity around them. Footsteps could still be heard in random intervals, and at one point Lewis was overcome by a strong cold chill that Arthur caught the edges of. When Vivi realized it, she excitedly held the evp reader near and asked whoever was close by to speak into it.

For once, it was someone else’s turn besides Arthur to freak out.

Lewis jumped with a gasp, turning his head quickly to look over his shoulder. Breathing out shakily, he asked, “Did you guys hear that?”

“What?” Vivi pressed excitedly, “What’d you hear?”

“I swear I just heard a woman whisper right behind me,” the waiter laughed out, shuddering after. “I didn’t catch what it was, I was too caught off guard.”

“That’s freaky,” Arthur sympathized, eyeing the shadows over their shoulders. 

Tapping a foot to the ground, Vivi hummed thoughtfully and explained aloud, “This place used to be run by nuns. I wonder if one of them was trying to talk to us.”

“Nuns?” Lewis echoed, then huffed out as he smoothed a hand over his hair, “Maybe. Hard to say.”

“Wait a second,” Arthur piped up, looking between them, “this is the place you said they don’t like guys on the second floor, right?”

Mischievously, Vivi adopted a wide grin, “Yep!”

Lewis, Arthur, and Mystery all looked at one another. Oh,  _ great. _

“Oh come on,” Vivi waved at them, “that just means there’s an even higher chance we’ll catch something. If they don’t like you guys, then they’ll likely try harder to reach out to tell us to shoo. Then boom! Evidence!”

Before any of them could argue, the blue haired girl started trotting forward again. Huffing, Mystery returned to her side with flattened ears, leaving Lewis and Arthur to give each other one more glance. Well, at least she had a point. Somewhat.

Eventually the investigators ended up in an open loft area, revealing the chapel directly below a half wall. Vivi leaned over it curiously with Mystery at her side, while Lewis slowly moved the camera to try and catch temperature changes. Arthur vaguely noticed him angle the camera over the edge at the door down below again, likely hoping to try and see if there had been a temperature change again. His tame reaction and the fact he angled away after a moment suggested nothing.

Arthur took his own wide angle shot while everything was quiet, only focusing back on Vivi when she started trying to get responses from spirits again. Like down below in the chapel, the atmosphere felt thicker in the loft, making Arthur uneasy and having to resist constantly looking over his shoulder.

"Anyone else getting the vibe in here?" He asked quietly.

Off to the side, Lewis responded in a similar whisper, "Yeah, it feels heavy up here. Repressive?"

Arthur nodded, "That's a good way to describe it."

"I think I'm getting it too," Vivi admitted, leaning to look over the wall again. "It's like you guys have been saying: someone doesn't want to talk to us, or more forward, doesn't want us here."

"That's definitely a feeling I'm getting," Arthur laughed nervously.

Crossing her arms, Vivi looked over at her two friends, "You guys wanna do one more walkthrough and call it a night?"

At their nods of agreement, Vivi idly called out one more time for something to happen. When the sound of creaky footsteps responded, all three investigators looked at one another in surprise. 

"Could you do that for us again," Vivi asked, looking toward where the sound came from, "if you do, I promise we'll leave and stop causing so much ruckus."

For a moment, nothing but silence and the sound of their own breathing could be heard. The group spared each other a look, giving in to the thought of nothing more, when again the footsteps came. A thrill of nervousness shot up Arthur's spine, turning to look back where his camera was angled. Nothing was there in the darkness, but maybe one of them had caught something on a device.

"Ok," Vivi grinned, "thank you! We'll go ahead and leave now."

After what had roughly been five hours of careful walking and talking, Arthur was more than happy when they finally made it to the front doors. On the way down, they caught more footsteps and distant voices, but the mechanic was too preoccupied with  _ leaving _ the charged building to really care too much about more evidence. Thankfully Vivi seemed mostly content with what they captured and didn't ask for more.

Once outside, Vivi threw her hands in the air and let out a laugh into the night, "Oh my  _ god! _ That was so fun!"

Wound up from anxiety, Arthur let out his own laugh and willed his shoulders to relax. They were safe now outside, but he would be haunted by that place for a little while. Especially after actually being  _ grabbed _ .

Lewis didn't seem quite as shaken, more of a middle ground between the two of them as he also laughed at the display. The group relished in the shared sound, letting it calm them all as they headed down the stairs of the building.

"Worth the day drive?" Arthur asked with a glance toward his oldest friend.

Vivi nodded enthusiastically, "Absolutely."

"I think the entire thing was a cool experience," Lewis agreed as he shut the thermal camera off, "drive and all."

"We can start looking for more haunts to explore once we're home," Vivi suggested. "And after going over our footage, which I bet you anything is a gold mine!"

"I don't know about you," Arthur smirked wearily, "but I'd like to be anywhere that's  _ not _ still here to do any of that."

"Alright, alright scaredy cat," the girl giggled his way. The mechanic gasped in fake offense, only to spurn Vivi into sticking her tongue out at him. Lewis had a laugh at their antics, the sound breaking Arthur into a meek grin.

Together, the Mystery Skulls packed their gear away then went to the caretaker’s house on the property to return the key for the entrance. Once that was taken care of, the group headed back to the van and Arthur had to stop himself from speeding off the property. The little time it took to get to the hotel was filled with idle chatter, mostly Vivi going on about what she thought was going on then the boys pitching in. 

It didn't take long before the four of them trudged up to their room and all but collapsed inside of it. Vivi had rented two standard sized beds, and Arthur promptly claimed one to faceplant into. The other three quickly followed, piling up on either side of him. Even Mystery jumped up and flopped just above his hair.

Groaning loudly, Arthur rolled over onto his back and sighed out, " _ Man _ I'm beat. From driving all day and getting grabbed, I am so ready to pass out."

"I can only imagine," Lewis chuckled. After a few minutes of them all settling into a relaxed state, the waiter pushed up off the bed and snatched one of the key cards, "I'm going to get some ice and drinks. Anyone want anything?"

Arthur waved lazily while Vivi called that she wanted something. He would have caught it, but the fatigued mechanic was too busy staring at the speckled pattern on the ceiling with half closed eyes. He was absolutely wiped.

"Alright Artie," Vivi yawned, whapping the mechanic gently on the arm once the door closed, "I might have glasses, but they're mostly for show. I'm not blind."

Frowning gently, Arthur avoided her eye as he continued to stare upward at the ceiling, "What do you mean?'

"Something's been eating you all day," the girl went on, rolling onto her side to give him a look. "I've known you long enough to know you're not just tired. What's going on?"

Arthur's heart sank to his stomach. Where did this come from? Had Vivi really caught on much earlier and just waited to ask him until they were alone? More importantly, how could he possibly say what he was feeling out loud? It would just make everything worse, Vivi would feel bad, everything would just become so much more complicated… He couldn't do that to her.

"I can wait for Lewis if it needs to be for both of us," Vivi offered, pointing over her shoulder.

"No," Arthur gasped, and it was then he realized he answered  _ way _ too quickly. Biting his lip, the mechanic raised his arm and laid it over his eyes to hide his face. He couldn't possibly look Vivi in the eye, not right now. Not when every conflicting emotion under the sun burned in his own. "I… I don't want him to know."

There was a quick pause were the only thing Arthur heard was the hammering of his own heart, before Vivi asked gently, "Know what?"

Shaking his head, Arthur refused to speak for a moment. This was all wrong,  _ dammit _ she wasn't supposed to suspect anything. But of course she would. Vivi was smart; Arthur had never been able to hide anything from her for long. He slowly pulled the arm off his face, sliding his hand down to rest over his mouth as he looked off to the side. He couldn't say it, not out loud, surely it would all come crashing down the moment he--

"Oh," Vivi breathed, and it was in that sound that the mechanic heard all the understanding come together, "Oh, Arthur, do you…?"

Arthur quickly moved to sit up, hunching forward as he stared ahead of them. Heat was spreading across his back and creeping onto his face, and the mechanic quickly lifted his hand again to cover his mouth. Muffled, he mumbled, "I… I-I shouldn't."

Before he knew it, there was an arm around him and a soft pillow of blue resting against his shoulder, "Arthur, hey, it's okay."

"No," the boy huffed, lowering his hand and letting his head drop forward, "it's not! You already said you have feelings for him, and here I am… feeling things too."

"You're allowed to," Vivi promised gently, squeezing her arm around him, "Has it been long?"

_ Ever since we met. _ Arthur swallowed dryly, "Long… enough."

"You should talk to him," the girl softly insisted. Part of him was surprised that Vivi was so casual in her suggestion, but the other part knew better. That's just how she was.

Arthur shook his head, "No, you need to talk to him first. You came to me first about your feelings, you deserve to see if he likes you."

The mechanic had never shot a firearm before, but he was pretty sure this was what shooting himself in the foot felt like. He  _ knew _ Lewis liked her, that if she approached him she wouldn't get denied. He knew… but he still encouraged her. 

Vivi watched him with gently furrowed brows, her eyes wandering over his face as she hugged him closer to her side, "But Arthur--"

"Look," Arthur sighed. He finally turned his gaze to Vivi, shifting to loop an arm around her in return and offering her a tiny smile, "you talk to him first, alright? If he says no, I'll try and… and I suppose I'll see if he likes grease monkeys."

That got her to smirk a little at least. "Fine, fine, but only because I see how scared you are."

"Me, scared?" Arthur crowed, "What am I, a scaredy cat?"

There was no way Mystery should have been able to give him an incredulous look, but he sure did. Vivi and Arthur both broke into a fit of laughter at that, and it was by that saving grace that the emotional tension had faded just enough that by the time Lewis returned, it didn't feel awkward enough to draw his attention. Arthur was grateful for that.

When it came to sleeping, the pairing for the beds that night ended up with Vivi and Arthur together, and Lewis with Mystery on the other. Vivi and Arthur had shared beds before on tight hotel trips, so it wasn't a big deal, especially since they trusted each other completely. Most of them were asleep pretty quickly once the lights were shut off, but to Arthur's dismay, he wasn't one of the ones to knock out quickly. 

The universe did know some mercy, however. It only took him an hour after the others fell asleep for him to finally drift off. The mercy continued further in keeping his dreams peacefully empty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was made as I consumed like 3 different walkthroughs of the Yorktown hospital 😂 Research via watching ghost hunters? Heck yeah!


	7. Never Give Up, Oh No

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Got me feeling like I'm fallin' in love  
>  Got me feeling like I'll never give up on  
> Got me feeling like I'll never give up on you_  
> M a g i c

While budget hotel beds aren't  _ usually _ the most comfortable places to sleep, Arthur passed out  _ hard _ after finally falling asleep. So hard in fact, it took Mystery giving him a face wash before the mechanic sputtered awake to the visual of a coy looking dog standing over him and his friends giggling tiredly just out of sight. Unable to be mad, Arthur dragged himself up and got ready to go as the other two buzzed about in their own levels of tiredness.

After taking advantage of the continental breakfast and checking to make sure their equipment was still secure, the Mystery Skulls headed off on their way home. The trip back was roughly as entertaining as it had been the first time, with the gang recapping the previous night for about two hours at different levels of intensity as they talked about sounds or feelings they'd gotten. Even after sleeping, Arthur couldn't shake the chilling feeling of having actually been  _ grabbed _ . In the few years he and Vivi had been hunting, never had he been physically touched.

He likely wouldn't forget that for awhile.

Midway back they pulled off again to eat, effectively killing off the rations Lewis had brought with him but still having the snacks Vivi had packed just in case. Arthur nearly dozed off in the back of the van while they took a breather, only startling awake when Lewis started quietly laughing at his sleepy antics. Flushing internally, the mechanic scrambled up with an embarrassed cough and went back to start them on their way. Mystery was given a side-eyed squint when Arthur noticed the dog looking just a little  _ too  _ amused with the near silent exchange.

He knew Mystery was way too smart. He also knew that Vivi knew his secret after last night, and the knowledge alone randomly struck to make his stomach nervous. It was hard to forget that he had spilled his feelings for Lewis to her, but even then she acted no different. Arthur shouldn't have expected that she would. They had an agreement after all. 

Who knew, maybe at the end of all this, Lewis would decide he didn't want either of them romantically. The mechanic figured he'd be fine with that, but still… he couldn't quite get over the heartache that gnawed at his insides from the thought. Why couldn't he just get over it like any other crush he'd had?

Thankfully he didn't ever stay plagued for too long. Having the company of those he adored most helped ebb the nervous pit in his stomach. It was hard to be miserable around the both of them, especially when they spoke in happy, warm tones. It kept the chill of nagging feelings away. Enough, anyway.

Everyone had comfortably wound down and were suffering from small bouts of road exhaustion and cabin fever by the time they entered Tempo. The sun was nearly setting, and all of them were more than eager to be home and out of the van. It wasn't stressful, but there's only so long someone can handle being stuck in a vehicle. Having taken many long car trips, even Arthur was ready to get out.  _ Especially _ Arthur, actually. He was so tired of staring at the road and wanted to look at  _ anything _ else but endless stretches of asphalt and road markers.

"Did you want to go over the footage tonight," he asked, only to be interrupted by a yawn as he spoke, "or some other time?"

"I think you just answered your own question," the blue haired girl giggled softly. 

Smirking, Arthur gently elbowed her but gave a nod, "Alright. Let's shoot for tomorrow, then."

"Sounds good to me," Lewis agreed, his head leaned casually against the window and bearing a small, sleepy smile. “I think my parents will be restless if I stay out for too much longer anyway. They’re not used to me being gone for extended periods of time.”

With the decision made, Arthur effectively dropped Lewis off after they all shared a tight hug of brief goodbye. The mechanic felt a little dizzy from it, fighting back a flush across his face and more than happy once the light in the cab died when the doors were shut. He was just glad hearts weren’t as loud to everyone else as they were to the one who had it. Vivi and Mystery were next, and Arthur lended her a hand in unloading and bringing in all the equipment once they arrived. It was a mighty effort not to just flop onto her couch after it was all said and done and just pass out there. He knew she wouldn’t have minded, but likely would’ve scolded him to find a better place to sleep.

Once everything was fastened to their respective chargers and docks, Arthur bid his friend one more goodnight and started the drive back home. After two days with a full van, the cab felt bigger than it had before and the trip was oddly quiet. Thankfully it was a short one.

Lance had left the light on for him and Arthur barely caught sight of his uncle as the older mechanic was heading to bed. The shorter man paused to give him a nod and his version of a smile, saying, "Welcome home. How was the trip?"

Adjusting his now dirty overnight bag as he closed the door, Arthur tiredly smiled as he met the man in the hall, "Good, just tired from the road. The place we went to was pretty freaky."

"Right up that girl's alley then," Lance hummed in amusement, then huffed, "See any ghosts?"

Arthur shook his head and grimaced, "No, but I swore one touched me. Grabbed my pant leg and everything. I would’ve fallen over if Lewis hadn’t been right there and helped catch me."

Making a face, Lance peered over his nephew's shoulder wearily, "As long as it didn't decide to follow you back."

"Don't say  _ that _ ," Arthur groaned in whiney exasperation. His uncle gave him a hearty laugh, clapping him on the back afterward with a grin. The younger mechanic returned it in kind before they bid each other goodnight and Arthur went to drop his stuff in his room. The moment Galahad caught sight of him, the little hamster began to wheel around his pen and squeak excitedly.

Laughing gently, the mechanic closed his door and walked over, "What's up, Hams? Miss me?"

The resulting squeaks and chittering was all the answer he needed and Arthur grinned warmly at the little rodent. He scooped the rambunctious hamster up in one hand, then grabbed a few sunflower seeds he kept in a container in the other as a treat for him. Sitting lazily against his headboard, Arthur took the time to relax and just pet the squeaky little Galahad to wind down. It had been a long two days, but not bad. 

He relaxed so much in fact that Arthur nearly fell asleep holding the hamster close to his chest. Only when the wheels spun against his palm signaling Galahad trying to move did he stir and decide to put him back for the night.

"Jeez Kingsmen," he yawned to himself, "haven't even done anything today and you're exhausted."

In truth, he knew better. Driving and staring at the road for hours on end while staying focused for long periods of time  _ was  _ exhausting. He suspected that after another day, he'd be fine and good to go without wanting to doze off so easily. He’d just need some good rest.

After crashing for the night, the next day brought Arthur back to the shop. He was up to his elbows in car parts and grease stains, and everything about it brought a sense of normalcy once again. He was so distracted that his confession to Vivi managed to hang back against the demands of work and casual customer conversation, which was  _ just _ fine for his psyche. When he broke for lunch, Arthur was surprised when someone came and told him he had a visitor. Expecting Vivi and wondering why she hadn’t just come back like she normally would, the mechanic paused in quiet wonder when he saw Lewis at the front of the shop instead with a to-go bag. Once their eyes met, the waiter instantly lit up and Arthur felt his heart stutter in his chest.

"I figured I'd bring you some lunch," Lewis said kindly as he extended the bag out, "and as a thanks for all the driving. I know it must’ve been rough."

Laughing warmly, Arthur took it and gave the boy a bright grin, "Ah, thanks man! You know, I kind of like this 'payment with food' thing we've got going."

Lewis beamed back at him, "Well I guess you’re in luck! It's a currency I'm rich in."

"And one I accept," the mechanic snickered.

Parting ways, Arthur felt refueled by both Lewis's visit and the freshly prepared meal he'd gotten from him. The rest of the day he breezed through work on a small wave of cloud nine, even gaining a few compliments from customers about it shining through his craftsmanship. Lance praised him with an impressed air, and Arthur went home shortly after to shower as the evening hours began to roll in.

As promised, the Mystery Skulls met up again that night at Vivi's house to pour over the footage they'd gotten. With popcorn and soft drinks lining the table, the trio leaned against one another constantly throughout the night as they compared footage or tugged someone over to listen to an audio clip. It was a great bonding moment with all of them together and close, even if it  _ was _ over being spooked by a haunt or trying to determine if they'd captured an orb or if that had just been dust drifting by the camera.

The coverage of footage went on for a good portion of the night, and Arthur was more than relieved that he had the next day off. He and Lewis ended up crashing in Vivi's living room, one on each couch only a few hours before sunrise. When the mechanic woke up to the sound of scuffing, he discovered Lewis was already gone and Vivi was running out the door.

"Oh, you're awake!" the girl called over her shoulder to a bewildered Arthur. Grinning widely, she waved his way and added, "Lock her up for me when you leave, thanks Artie!"

Blinking tiredly to figure out what was going on, it was belatedly he realized Mystery was laying on his legs watching the door Vivi left through. When he caught Arthur's eye, the dog made some sort of shrugging motion and pointed with his nose to the table. Scrubbing a hand over his eyes, Arthur reached over to grab his phone.

Sure enough, he'd woken up a little after one.  _ Man I fell asleep hard... _ The mechanic gave Mystery an affectionate scrub through his fur then got up, doing as asked and locking up the house before going home. 

The rest of the week saw him busy with both jobs keeping his attention. Even after he'd gotten the van, Arthur decided to keep his position at Pepper Paradiso. It kept extra cash flowing, gave him something to do when the shop wasn't busy, and it meant he could spend more time with Lewis. Sure it was hard to curb his feelings for the waiter, but at the end of the day, Lewis was still his friend above all else. He loved him for that at the very least.

After the investigation, things slowly fell back into a normal, albeit busy routine. Vivi was preoccupied with the Tome Tomb and Arthur with his own jobs. Lewis was almost always at the restaurant doing something and it was in that haze of business that Arthur managed to keep his previous distress at bay. Sure it hurt knowing Lewis likely never saw him as anything else, but it… would be alright. Maybe he'd get the courage to ask one day. He  _ did _ promise Vivi he'd try.

It was two weeks after the investigation that Arthur went back home after being in the shop most of the afternoon. He idly sent Vivi a text, asking if she wanted to hang out that evening, before jumping in the shower to clean up. It was only when he got out that he swiped opened his phone and saw her response.

_ [Book Nerd: Hey, sorry! I can't tonight, I actually have plans with Lewis!] _

Arthur blinked. Plans with Lewis? 

_ Oh, alright _ . That was fine. They were all allowed to hang out with each other outside of trio pow wows. Only… Arthur couldn't help but feel that tide of worry come crawling back from whatever dark corner it had been hiding in. He had been doing fairly well since they got home, but that single message sent an uneasy feeling wriggling into his stomach. 

Did… Vivi plan to act, then?

No, he was jumping to conclusions, he had to stay level. It could just be a private hangout, nothing more. Even if she did, there was nothing wrong with that. He'd  _ told _ her to wait after the investigation, and now that it was over...

_ [Mecha Nerd: No worries, I'll see you sometime soon then!] _

Putting the phone down, Arthur tied his towel around his waist and raised his hands to cover his face as he released a slow sigh. No, no, stop… It was  _ fine _ , if Vivi was making a move -- or even Lewis for that matter -- then he should be  _ happy _ for them. They'd be good for each other, compliment each other, they'd… be… Arthur was getting ahead of himself. There was  _ no telling _ if it was just a simple hangout or something else, it could be totally innocent. Absolutely harmless.

Completely… ruining for him.

_ God _ he was freaking out. He needed a distraction. 

For the rest of the evening, Arthur threw himself into whatever project he could find. He took the van out of the garage and filled up buckets with soap and water, then went to town cleaning it. He took extra care in scrubbing off the road grime from the trip, detailing any bit he could and buffing any dings and scratches out that it had acquired. Lance got home when he was almost done, sparing him a glance before heading inside. It wasn’t strange for Arthur to get a random burst of work energy even after being in the shop all day, so his behavior wasn’t exactly suspicious. 

When Arthur was finished, he drove it back inside and tried to find something else to occupy his mind. The mechanic went to his room, grabbing supplies as he went to settle at his desk. Pulling up the schematics for Galahad's wheels, Arthur started on making a spare pair and units in case something happened. The chances were unlikely, but it'd be handy in case the hamster broke a wheel or a housing somehow. Hams was a fiesty guy, accidents were bound to happen if he tried to ramp over something.

The next time Arthur looked up, he gave some sort of relieved sigh to see it was nighttime. There were no messages from either Vivi or Lewis, which he tried not to think about, and instead went to grab dinner. Pizza was his food of choice, and soon afterwards he stored the wheels he'd been working on away and went to lounge in bed with a book. It was the best thing he could do at the time, and it was by some small mercy that he fell asleep at some point while reading

What occurred because of that however was a sore neck and stiff back the next morning. Arthur begrudgingly got up to go to the shop after sleeping so awkwardly, seeing a message from Vivi as he did. Her and Lewis had apparently gone to dinner and hung out at her place, and even as he frowned, the mechanic responded as casually as he could. 

That  _ definitely  _ sounded like a date. And that was fine, it was  _ fine, _ it was… fine.

Next time he tried to spend the evening with someone a week later, Lewis that time, he was given a similar response. Out with Vivi. With a heavy sigh, Arthur plunged himself again into distractions, settling for video games. He lost himself in the stages and movesets, desperately trying not to think of how hollow his chest had gotten. He should be happy for them, he shouldn’t be brooding so heavily if they were content. He shouldn’t feel so crushed when he’d never put himself out there in the first place.  _ Did it to yourself. You had every opportunity to say something. _

So when the day came that Vivi showed up at Pepper Paradiso during a slow shift, Arthur had an idea of what was going on. The door gave a friendly chime as Vivi walked in, and the mechanic looked up from where he’d been leaning on his arms at the counter. Mystery was at her heels, and Arthur waved once before setting his arm back down, "Hi Viv!"

"Hey Artie," she called happily, then her eyes turned just behind him. Her expression lit up as she saw something, adding, "Heya Lew!'

Dipping his head, Arthur glanced back over his shoulder to look. Lewis came out of the kitchen with a wide grin, apron on and all, weaving around the counter quickly and wrapping the blue girl in a hug, "Vivi! It’s so good to see you!"

The display sent a shock of dread in Arthur’s stomach, but one he'd come to solemnly accept from text cues. Lewis was an affectionate guy with everyone, he knew that, but this… this was different. It was all the proof he needed to feel resigned in his assumptions.

"Man," Arthur laughed tiredly, watching with a dull smile, "forget a table for two, do you need a room? Dry storage isn’t occupied." Eesh, either his mind was playing tricks on him or he’d said that with more hidden bite than he meant to.  _ Jeez Kingsmen, don’t be rude… They’re your friends, snap out of it. _

Snorting, Vivi lifted a hand and gave a giggle, shaking her head, "No! Jeez, can't friends share a good hug?"

Friends… somehow, Arthur didn't detect just  _ friends  _ in that interaction, but he didn’t argue about it. Vivi gave the purple boy's arm a pat before breaking away from Lewis, ruffling her skirt quickly to straighten it. Eyes turning to Arthur, she said calmer, "Actually, I wanna talk if you're not busy. Got a sec?"

The mechanic tried not to jump. Talk?  _ Oh man... _ Turning his eyes briefly to Lewis, the mechanic fought against a weary frown and stood up straight, "Yeah, the doors aren't exactly swinging today. I should be good."

Smirking kindly, Vivi turned and pointed at her dog, "Okay Mystery, stay with Lewis and watch his post!" 

Eyes too intelligent squinted at them in amusement, before Vivi took his arm and gently tugged the scrawny boy toward an unoccupied table just out of earshot of Lewis. She didn't sit, but Vivi made sure her face was out of the waiter's sight. The grin dropped ever slightly, eyes wandering over Arthur with a spark of concern.

"First off," the blue girl started, frowning as she looked him up and down, "are you okay?"

Reaching up to scrub the back of his neck, Arthur forced a quiet laugh as he lied, "Yeah… sorry. Hams decided to be nocturnal last night so my sleep wasn't that great. Been on the wrong side of the bed since."

Vivi expression said she  _ clearly _ didn't believe him, but he supposed she wasn't in the mood to push the issue. Guilt ate into his stomach with an empty feeling in his chest. That fact alone felt like a scolding on its own.

"Well, if you're sure. So... I wanted to talk to you in person instead of over the phone," Vivi went on gently, her arms crossing, "I talked to Lewis about, y'know. How I feel."

Arthur nodded silently, not fighting so hard to keep his customer service smile. He'd figured that much.

"Him and I went out a few times and, well…" Reaching up, the girl combed her fingers through the back of her hair, "We decided we wanted to give each other a try." Tilting her head a little, her stare became even more intense as she goaded gently, "Are you… okay with that?"

Arthur's shoulders jostled in a small shrug, fighting the urge to look away -- anywhere but at Vivi. He didn't want her to see how  _ not _ okay he was. "I mean, yeah, as long as you two are happy I'll always--"

"That's not what I asked," Vivi intoned softly, "are  _ you  _ okay, Arthur? I know how you feel about him and, well because of how things went, you never got to tell him. Be honest with me."

Sighing out heavily, Arthur lifted a hand to smooth over the back of his neck. He couldn’t hold the gaze and instead averted it with a frown, murmuring, "I'll live, Viv. It'll... be weird for a bit, but I'm sure I'll get used to it."

"We're going slow," the girl promised, trying to catch his eye, "and… if it really makes you uncomfortable, then I can cut it off."

Huffing a humorless laugh, the mechanic turned a look mixed with shock and amusement toward his oldest friend, "Don't let my comfort jeopardize a future you can have with someone."

"You know I would," Vivi said softly but insistently, "you came first, Arthur. You're my brother. You can't suffer while I thrive, that's not how this works."

"I'll be fine," Arthur assured, gaining a gentle smile, "if it gets too much… I'll let you know."

Vivi nodded, then sharply pointed a finger at him, "Good, I'm counting on you to. Cause if I suspect you're hiding it  _ or _ if I see you start drawing away from us, I'm having none of it, you hear?"

Arthur stiffened slightly, eyeing the blue girl warily, "Yes, ma'am."

"I mean it," Vivi huffed with a small squint, "just because Lew and I are together doesn't mean you're any less important to either of us, so don't start thinking you are or trying to act like it. Got it?"

Smirking half heartedly, the next laugh he gave was a bit truer. She really had him pinned, and Arthur should have expected as much. Vivi had witnessed too many deep parts of his life to  _ not _ know how he was, "Jeez, Vivi, I didn't ask to be called out."

"Well you better keep an eye on your phone plan," Vivi stated cockily, "cause I've got your number on speed dial, gear head."

"Alright, alright," Arthur huffed with amusement. Smiling through the quiet pain, he said softer, "I promise."

At that, Vivi finally regained her smile. It was gentler than before, still with a bit of uncertainty, but entirely Vivi all the same. She looked like she was about to speak, but a voice from behind masking slight concern caught both of their attention, "Everything good over there?"

Breathing in, Arthur briefly closed his eyes. There was no way he could give a straight answer to that. He… he had to be supportive. These were his friends, and he was going to be there for them no matter what. He loved Vivi and Lewis both, and he wasn’t going to let his sour attitude ruin what they had. He couldn’t. Give it time, and Arthur would eventually get over it. It was just… a really, really stubborn crush. The mere thought had him swallowing back a gentle brush of heat on his face and accelerated pulse.  _ C’mon, man... _

And so, Arthur drew his smile wider and looked back at the confused Lewis, "Yeah, sorry man! Viv was just filling me in." Gently patting her shoulder to turn them back to Lewis, he continued as he led them back, "We were just discussing a way to celebrate, so… dinner tonight, my treat. I want to do something for you guys."

He became quickly aware of the two surprised stares suddenly fixed on him. Vivi's was one of quiet concern but thankfulness, and Lewis was one of shock but quiet delight.

"Oh," the waiter breathed, then brightened up with a grin and a flush of red on his cheeks, "Thanks, Arthur! That… means a lot."

"Hey," the mechanic laughed with a casual shrug, "it's our currency, after all."

There was one more stare glued to the mechanic, one he tried to avoid. Even as he did, Arthur couldn't help but glance downward his way when his attention shifted. Mystery was watching him, one ear tilted back and one angled toward him. Something like a frown marked his muzzle, and not for the first time, Arthur thought he was going crazy for being able to see a worried, pitying frown on a dog.

Either way, Arthur guessed he somehow wasn't the only one who knew that the bullet he had shot through his foot went clean through. 


	8. There's Nowhere Else I'd Rather Be

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _For the first time I know baby, I'm on fire  
>  And right now it's overtaking me  
> There's nowhere else that I'd rather be  
> Right now, I'm--_  
> O n F i r e

After the initial conversation and the few times Vivi and Lewis had spent alone, his oldest friend made a clear point to stick to her word. Vivi did everything she could to include Arthur in all events and hangouts, and for that, the mechanic was quietly grateful. Even if the dynamic had shifted, Lewis and Vivi weren’t obnoxious with their affections. They stood and sat closer together, sometimes Vivi on his lap, but otherwise they weren’t completely inseparable. Arthur had always known Vivi to have a strong sense of individuality and independence, and that didn’t change with a boyfriend. 

That became official, too. Once the dinner that Arthur had treated them to was over, the pair of them became official on their relationship status. They weren't outwardly loud about it, but the little things made it clear, especially with Lewis. An affectionate person from the get go, the waiter always tried to either have a hand on her shoulder or had his arms around Vivi in a hug -- which, if Arthur hadn't been struggling with his own feelings, would have found comical with their dramatic height difference.

Time slowly passed, days to weeks, as Arthur was left to cope with how he felt. He found himself getting increasingly more frustrated at his inability to just let his feelings  _ go _ , and only took it out on video games when he was alone. He wanted nothing more than to be over how he felt, to just genuinely enjoy the company of his friends without wishing he was with Lewis instead of Vivi. She'd told Arthur to let her know if things got bad, but frankly, he didn't know what measure of bad to go by. 

Naturally, Arthur would have tried to pull away -- to give himself time to sort out his own feelings, and maybe more negatively, not be an influence on his friends when all he could feel was a tide of jealousy under the surface. But Vivi had predicted that and strictly forbade such behavior, adamantly so that when she even suspected Arthur was disconnecting from an outing, she'd drag him into what was happening to force interaction. It was something he'd brood over and laugh awkwardly about at the time, but he did appreciate it in all honesty.

Of course, people often say things get worse before they get better. That happened in Arthur's case too. 

Sometimes his feelings got so bad he nearly called off an outing, and he had to admit there was a time or two he faked a late night at the shop to avoid being around them. Those instances would backfire however, and Arthur ended up feeling incredibly guilty whenever he pulled the lie, and somehow  _ worse _ than if he was around them. So after a few times he decided to throw that excuse away. Vivi would've likely caught on anyway after a few more.

Weeks turned to months, and it was in those months that Arthur slowly began to suspect  _ why  _ he couldn't just get over Lewis. He found himself daydreaming sometimes, zoning out to songs that made him think of the boy and it all resorted to him trying to frustratingly shove the thoughts away. The worst thought of all, the one he  _ definitely _ didn't want to confront, was that maybe… it wasn't a crush after all. He loved them both, but perhaps he  _ loved _ Lewis. 

That thought, out of all of them, terrified him.

So of course, like any scrambling person neck deep in a pit of denial, he tried to ignore it. It was a stupid idea, one that left him more hurt and more prone to curling up tighter in his covers at night, but he just  _ couldn't  _ face that fact. Crushes were fine, innocent, pure. Crushes  _ faded _ . Love… didn't. Not easily, and not quickly or painlessly. Confronting that thought left his eyes sore and his pillow damp, with Vivi's messenger window almost screen burned into his phone. He wanted to talk to someone  _ so badly _ but he just… he  _ couldn't  _ tell Vivi. Not when she was so heavily involved. Everytime he tried, he backed out and buried his face back into his pillow.

And so Arthur refrained, with thick silence and tear stains on his pillow as his only journal.

Fall was quickly approaching and the mechanic had to admit that the change of season was nice. The chill crept in during the morning, the crunch of leaves a satisfying sound, and the shorter days left him less time in the southern heat in the shop. The only bad thing about autumn's approach was that it was the anniversary of when he'd seemingly lost everything years ago.

Piling that on top of what he was already going through? Arthur wanted nothing more than just a simple break.

As he was getting his vest from the closet, his phone buzzed noisily once on his desk. Galahad gave a startled squeak and darted for his tiny transparent home, while Arthur merely slid his puffy garment on and went over to inspect.

_ [Book Nerd to Mystery Skulls: Hey guys! I'm hanging out with the Tome Tomb girls tonight. Be good without me! <3] _

Smirking lightly, he responded with a simple message telling her to have fun then returned to his closet. Grabbing a red scarf, he wound it loosely around his neck and gave his hamster's cage a gentle pat.

"Be good, Galaham," Arthur intoned gently, "I'll be back later."

Arthur stepped outside, breathing out slowly at the coolness of the air. It was overcast, making it even chillier than forecasted, but that was fine. He left the van in the garage and instead took the beater out for a spin. After a short driving stent, the mechanic wound up at the local supermarket and parked, heading inside after a small look to see how busy it was. His steps were idle but ultimately were aligned with purpose.

Glancing up, he noticed his arrival at the floral department. There was an elderly woman that had worked there for about five years that he kindly smiled at, then went about browsing through her stock. He ultimately decided on a modest but pretty blue and yellow bundle and went to pay with the woman after idle chat. She bid him a good day, which he smiled politely at, then Arthur turned away to peruse the rest of the store. 

That is, until a voice cut through his cloudy thoughts, "Arthur?"

The mechanic startled slightly, looking up to locate the voice he'd come to know well by now. Lewis was standing outside the floral area, his hands tucked in his coat pockets and his brows lifted in slight surprise. When they made eye contact, the waiter gained a grin and stepped over toward him.

"Oh, hey Lew," Arthur greeted back with a small smile.

"Hey, didn't expect to see you here," the waiter chuckled kindly. Looking at the flowers, he turned his eyes back up with a near mischievous glance, "ohh, got a date tonight? You been holding out on us?"

Laughing gently, Arthur shook his head as he adjusted the bundle between his hands, "Ah, no. They're… for my parents, actually."

All humor quickly drained from Lewis's face, replaced instead with understanding and an apologetic spark in his eyes, "Oh, I see. I'm sure they'll love them."

Smiling appreciatively back, the mechanic nodded. He tried to stray differently every year, but always ended up with the flowers that his mother had favored. He knew his dad wouldn't mind. 

Lewis tilted his head thoughtfully then gained a small, sympathetic smile, "Do you want some company?"

Taken aback, Arthur stared in quiet wonder for a moment. In truth, he and Lewis typically didn't make a habit of hanging out completely alone. Not for lack of getting along, no, it was just how their schedules tended to fall. They were almost always at work or with Vivi there in some way. The mere thought made his heart rate pick up, but he smothered it under a small, shaky sigh.

At first he wanted to refuse, that this would do him no good as far as his feelings were concerned. But maybe, just maybe… it wouldn't be so bad?  _ He's your friend, and you're his. So treat each other like it _ .

"I-I mean," Arthur stammered with a gentle laugh, "you're welcome to come, but the graveyard isn't exactly the most…  _ lively _ place."

Caught off guard, Lewis let out a boisterous laugh. His smile widened and…  _ warmed _ , and the waiter said softly, "I think that's why I want to come. Everyone deserves company."

The smile of appreciation touched Arthur's eyes and heart both, and the mechanic nodded, "Alright. Got any unfinished business here? I can wait."

"Nah," Lewis shrugged, "I was here looking for an ingredient that I needed for the weekend, but I have time. Besides, hanging out with friends is more important."

Grinning even truer than before, Arthur gave a quiet laugh and nodded. The pair of them headed back outside and Lewis promised to meet him there as long as Arthur led the way. Setting the small bouquet in the passenger seat, Arthur let out an internal scream at the fact he was going to spend time with Lewis. Alone.  _ Please don't let this be a mistake, you're a walking candlestick of disaster. _

With an irritable huff to dismiss the thought, the lanky mechanic took the driving lead. He glanced back every so often to make sure Lewis was keeping pace in his own car, then quietly pulled into the gates and parked on the edge of a dirt path. Lewis met him outside as the mechanic adjusted his scarf, flashing him an encouraging smile. The act alone felt like a small refresher and, side by side, the two walked in respectful silence through the field of headstones.

It didn't take long for habit to find Arthur where he needed to be. Two weathered but still taken care of slabs sat beside one another, grabbing both boys’ attention as Arthur approached. He started picking through the stems of the bouquet, separating them into two bunches based on who would appreciate them most. His mother preferred the blue ones, while his father liked yellow. He'd always said they reminded him of Arthur's mother.

When he set one bundle down in front of Mr. Kingsmen, Lewis gently cleared his throat to get Arthur's attention. Glancing up, Arthur saw the purple boy looking almost shy as he asked, "If it's not out of line, may I have one for your mother?"

Stunned, all Arthur could do was nod as he plucked a single flower from the batch. He extended it out as Lewis rubbed at his neck in quiet embarrassment, "In hindsight, I should have brought my own but--"

"Don't," Arthur croaked, then cleared his throat of the shock and spoke softly, "don't worry about it. Here."

Lewis took it gingerly with a relieved smile, laying it down only after Arthur placed his. To say that the mechanic was touched by Lewis compassion was an understatement. He didn't have to offer any flowers or anything, and yet he did. He wanted to.

Heaving a small sigh, Arthur shifted downward and sat between the two plots, aware of Lewis standing respectfully behind him just out of sight. His eyes drifted halfway closed, quietly looking between the names and dates engraved in sealed stone.

It had been a decade since Arthur lost them and the worst of the hurt was gone since he'd been so young, but visiting always brought a heaviness to his chest. Now more than ever, he wished he could talk to them. There were so many things he needed help with, so many decisions he just wished he could work out by himself. He could already hear his mother gently chiding him, telling him to talk to his uncle if he needed help. To be honest with his friends.

To never dare think his friends were better off without his woes.

_ To feel is to be human, Arthur _ , she'd once told him when he came out to her, crying in fear of her reaction at such a young age,  _ and humans are beautifully complicated. Never be afraid to be yourself or to love anyone, no matter who or what they are. In the end, you'll always have people who love you too and think like you. You just have to find them _ .

And… truth be told, he  _ had  _ found them. Vivi had been one of the best things to ever happen to Arthur, and she'd been through so much. Lewis, despite how new the friendship was compared to Vivi and Arthur's complicated feelings, was an amazing addition as well. He was so loving and caring, and determined, and even if Arthur's internal feelings left him a mess, he would never wish for Lewis to be gone from their friendship unit.

No, Lewis was necessary for their found family. Just like Vivi had been. And just like Arthur.

A rumble of thunder caught the mechanic’s attention, bringing him out of his thoughts to look up at the sky. The overcast had darkened, threatening to open up on anyone who was caught outside.  _ Heh, guess the gatekeepers say it's time to leave _ .

Sighing out a deep breath, Arthur realized a little bit of the weight had left his chest and shoulders. He smiled inwardly at that, thanking his parents for helping even if he'd never outwardly spoken a word. A hand appeared out of his peripheral as he started to move, and Arthur gratefully took it to rise into a stand.

"Doing alright?" Lewis gently asked, his eyes kind and searching.

Arthur nodded back, reluctantly letting go and tucking his hands in his vest pockets with a small smile, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay." And honestly… he meant it. He  _ was _ okay. "Let's go somewhere else before the sky breaks on us."

As Arthur turned to head back toward the path, he realized after a moment that Lewis wasn't following. Peering over his shoulder curiously, he saw the waiter looking down at the gravesites. His back was facing Arthur so it was hard to see, but as he watched and nearly asked if Lewis was alright, he heard his friend whisper, "... thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Kingsmen. For giving me a friend like Arthur."

A wave of awe and… emotion Arthur couldn't bear to work out in that very moment crashed over the boy like a riptide. He felt utterly swept away by it and barely looked away before Lewis turned toward him. God, his heart had started racing a mile a minute. Lewis… Closing his eyes, Arthur released another deep, slow sigh as he started walking back toward a path he had relatively memorized. Without much of his consent, a hand slid out of his pocket and laid over his racing heart.  _ Oh, Lew… thank you. I don't deserve you _ .

From above, another crack of thunder growled across the sky, louder than the previous. Arthur let his gaze flit upward with a small smirk, sliding his hand back down.  _ Alright, alright. Maybe I do. I'll try to deserve you. _

Thankfully the two of them made it back to their vehicles before the storm broke, and Arthur stood beside his car as he got his keys ready. Lewis came over to his side, huddling beside the car as if that would protect him from the wind. Arthur couldn't help but be amused at the sight of the built boy trying to stay masked by the old car. 

"Did you have any other plans today?" the waiter asked, sparing a glance over his shoulder at the sky. "My schedule's open if you wanted to do anything."

"Not really," the mechanic confessed, fixing Lewis with a curious gaze, "It was a day off so I figured I'd come visit, then… see what else happened."

"Well first thing's first," Lewis chuckled, looking back at his friend, "we should probably get inside somewhere before it opens up."

Nodding, Arthur leaned to the side and hummed thoughtfully, "My place is likely more quiet than yours if you want a break from the girls. We wanna head there?"

"Sounds good to me," Lewis agreed with a pleasant grin.

Quickly, the two of them got into their cars and crept out of the graveyard. They'd timed it pretty well, seeing how as soon as they were both beyond the gates, the clouds released their burden upon the town. Frowning gently at the windshield as he turned the wipers on, Arthur huffed out of soft frustration.  _ Well, there go the flowers. Oh well I guess. _

It didn't take long before the pair of them arrived at Arthur's house after that, and the two made a frantic dash inside to avoid the storm. Lewis was laughing over it, and Arthur couldn't help but join in with the sound. Thankfully they weren't too drenched by the time they got inside, and Arthur hung his vest and scarf up to dry as they headed for the living area.

"Uncle Lance is at the shop," Arthur informed his friend as he promptly sank into the couch, "so the place is ours for awhile."

Reaching onto the table, the mechanic snatched and waved a joycon with a smirk, "want to beat people up as your Sailor Senshi mii?"

Lewis lit up at the idea, only to quickly delve into a mischievous look, "Abso _ lutely _ ."

For a few hours, Arthur let himself get lost in the company of his friend. He wasn't so heavily plagued by his affections for him or the conflict of not being with him, but instead focused on the present. That present was Lewis wanted to spend time together, and Arthur would happily oblige. Every moment was a timeless treasure a guy like him couldn't afford to lose. 

Cheers and shouts echoed through the room as the two of them battled, at first fighting against each other to get warmed up, then eventually others online. Over time, the rain settled down and Lance came home. He peered into the room to see what the random noises were about, but upon seeing his nephew smiling with his friend, dipped away to leave them to their own devices. 

They eventually broke for dinner, which Lewis offered to cook. It wasn't the first time the waiter had cooked in the Kingsmen house, but it still left Arthur and Lance both surprised at his willingness to do so. Arthur helped when he could but was often kindly shooed away to go sit while Lewis did all the work. Once dinner was served, the three of them ate in companionable silence only broken by Lance telling a story or two from the day at the shop. When Lewis tried to grab the plates to do the dishes, Lance promptly waved him off.

"Ah nah nah," he chided, "You've done enough this evening. Thank you for dinner, but go enjoy some TV or somethin'."

Laughing good naturedly, Lewis conceded and the two boys went back into the living room. Smash Bros wasn't started again but they ended up settling on watching comedy shows instead. Arthur was surprised but also not when Lewis decided to share the couch with him, and the two of them went back and forth laughing or bantering at the shows they watched. Eventually they quieted down, and Arthur realized he wasn't exactly keeping track of the screen anymore when scenes began to jump.

He wasn't sure when, but Arthur realized with a start that he'd closed his eyes at some point. What he  _ also _ realized was his head was leaned to the side -- namely, on Lewis's shoulder. The situation itself sent a flood of heat up his back and onto his face, almost making his skin feel like it was on fire from being so flushed. Arthur would've pulled away if it weren't for the fact there was a gentle weight on his head from above.

Lewis had dozed off too, and he had leaned his head on  _ Arthur's _ , unintentionally pinning him in place. Had Lewis meant to do that? Was he just being his affectionate self? Did he fall asleep and not realize which way he leaned? If he woke up now, would he be embarrassed, scoot away from him, say that he didn't… mean… 

Arthur let out a quiet sigh.  _ No, calm down, it's Lewis. It's fine. It's Lewis.  _ Somewhere he knew that Lewis wouldn't be mad or weirded out by this. Lewis wasn't that type of person. And honestly, Arthur would ride this moment out as long as he could. It didn't hurt anyone.

In that moment, there was nowhere else he'd rather be than right there, nestled up to the one he felt so much for. So Arthur took it for as long as he could and closed his eyes with a silent exhale, getting lost in the gentle touches of the one he cared for. It was the closest he'd ever come to anything else.

He only opened his eyes again when a tinny noise caught his groggy attention some time later. From above, Lewis breathed in deeply and slowly leaned off the lanky boy, shifting something out of Arthur's sight. As much as he didn't want to move, Arthur took the chance to adjust and run an arm over his face, acting half awake, and leaned his head off to the opposite side.

There was a little more shuffling coming from Lewis until the blonde boy ultimately heard a sleepy, "M'hey."

"Aww," he heard laughed from the other line of a phone call, and immediately identified Vivi's voice, "sorry Lewlew, did I wake you?"

"Yeah, but that's ok," Lewis trailed off on a yawn. "Probably good you did. Arthur and I both fell asleep on the couch."

Again he heard Vivi laugh, and Arthur took the opportunity to sit up a little straighter and rub at his face again. He peered behind one hand, catching Lewis's eye as the both of them cracked a smile.

"Both my boys hanging out," he heard Vivi say fondly, "did you two spend the day together?"

"We did," Lewis confirmed, rubbing a hand over an eye.

"Hey Vi," Arthur croaked tiredly as he leaned a bit closer, earning a giggle from the other line.

"Oh my god you two really  _ did _ fall asleep," she laughed, "and without me! How rude, I might have to come invade."

Raising a brow, Lewis laughed sleepily and looked at Arthur. The mechanic smirked, clearing his throat to say louder, "You're the one who decided to have a girl night, so Lew and I did the same. And you know you're always welcome to come over."

"That's basically a golden ticket," Vivi proclaimed, earning a laugh from both guys, "alright, don't move! I'll be over in a minute."

Hanging up the phone, Lewis laughed to himself and scrubbed his hands over his face. The laughter faded into a yawn, and the waiter casually draped an arm over the back of the couch as he relaxed. Arthur eyed it keenly, wanting to lean back into it but refrained.  _ That is so not what he meant by it _ .

"How long were we out?" he asked instead, scrubbing a hand through his hair.

A pensive look overtook the waiter, brows drawn as he stared at the clock on his phone, "Uhmm… hour and a half? Maybe two? I'm not sure."

Wow, he'd been tired. They both had been. Rainy days had a tendency to do that, so he couldn't put anything at fault. Besides, it had been nice to just hang out together. Him and Lewis being alone wasn't really common, and getting to spend a day like that… well, it had felt really good.

To his surprise, Lewis got comfortable back on the couch -- and by sitting close to Arthur. The mechanic didn't complain, and in fact gave up and slowly leaned into the sinking cushions focused around Lewis as well. Lewis put up no argument, instead giggling sleepily at something on the TV in the meantime, leaving Arthur to relax with a gentle smile.

A few minutes passed before the door clicked down the hall. The single click was accented by numerous other small clicks growing louder with each beat. Popping around the corner, Mystery appeared in the entryway looking alert and searching with ears pointed forward. Once spotting them, the pup dashed over and lunged onto Lewis and Arthur's laps without hesitation, buckling them into laughter. The dog promptly laid across both of their laps, looking quietly pleased with himself as his tail wagged happily.

It was only a few seconds before Vivi swung around and grinned at them, trotting over to join the pile on the couch. She came prepared: dressed completely in fuzzy blue starry pajamas. They all managed to finagle a position on the couch, with Vivi taking over Mystery's spot by sitting on both of the boys and Mystery himself flopping on Arthur's other side. As they got settled, Vivi gave her boyfriend a kiss then immediately turned to give Arthur one on the cheek. 

"There," she sighed contently, leaning back into them, "now we're complete."

A soft chorus of chuckles marked her statement before they all settled down. And you know? Arthur had to agree. He wasn't over the way he felt by far, but he was happy. And that was more than what he could say at the beginning of the day.

They were complete.


	9. I Hope It Ain't The Last Time, Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Livin' life on the peak  
>  Girl, I'll make this a dream  
> And I make you believe in something so right  
> How'd it happen so real?  
> Move in closer I did  
> Will you do or feel the same for me?_  
> B o d y H i g h

After that night, Arthur made an effort to really participate in their friendship again. Even with Vivi telling him not to and Arthur not really  _ trying  _ to, he  _ had _ begun to start drawing away. It was subtle, but it was enough to affect his mood negatively. More determined than ever to be worth it to them, Arthur swallowed his feelings and did his best to manage them without jeopardizing the trio’s friendship in the process.

It was difficult, but in time Arthur managed. He ended up confronting Lance about it one night, confessing his feelings for Lewis and his inability to tell anyone else because of it. His uncle, as supportive as he was, wasn't sure how to help him out if Arthur was so adamant about not saying anything. He offered his ear any time though, and for Arthur, that was enough. At least  _ someone _ knew besides Vivi, someone he didn't feel guilty bringing it up to. 

Fall came in full swing with Halloween spearheading the holidays to come. Vivi was ecstatic about the approaching holiday, wrapping the boys up in her schemes of decorating and visiting local haunted houses in preparation for it all. She even went out of her way to find local,  _ actual _ haunted houses that they could investigate as the Mystery Skulls.

While Arthur was nervous and jittery throughout the few she found, Lewis and Vivi were having fun and that was all he could ask for. He might have gotten actually frightened more than once, but his friends were always there to help ground him if it got too much. That was one thing he appreciated: even as a couple, Lewis and Vivi never actually left him behind.

Once Halloween came, the trio decided to walk Lewis's sisters around trick or treating. It was fun for them all, even as adults, if just to see all the decorated houses and costumed kids. Later that night, they crashed at Vivi's place in sugar comas from candy and cider alike after intensely fun card games and scary movies. Even after the night was over, Vivi left the decorations up for nearly a month after the fact. Lewis was amused by it, but for Arthur it was a norm. That was Vivi, always obsessed with the spooks. Arthur would admit she was braver than him any day.

The next holiday that came around was Thanksgiving. While usually Arthur and Lance were invited over to the Yukino's for the afternoon, the holiday became split into an entire day. The Kingsmen duo attended the Yukino's Thanksgiving lunch for the afternoon, then were promptly grabbed by Lewis to spend the rest of the day with the Peppers. It was a jam packed and tiring day flitting between families, but everyone enjoyed it. Arthur swore everyone was going to go into a food coma for a month from all the delicacies that had been prepared.

As November passed into December, Tempo was plunged into the chills of the southern winter. No snow showed up as per the climate, but icy winds and treacherous roads were sometimes a hassle. Thankfully it was never too bad, and the Mystery Skulls put their ghost hunting on temporary hold until they were sure the roads wouldn't be dangerous with ice. 

Christmas season made both of Arthur's jobs busier and more demanding, and more often than not he would go home and faceplant after any shift, promptly passing out for awhile from exhaustion. On the rare occasion he'd wake up to find Lewis and Vivi over, having let themselves in to hang out with him whenever he woke up. Most likely though he was invited over and ended up knocking out after awhile on whoever's couch he was visiting. With the holidays being like they were, everyone was understanding.

If anything, it was a pleasant surprise to wake to find either Lewis or him and Vivi both pressed up against his side as they waited for him to wake up.

When December 25th came around, they were all invited to the Pepper's again for hanging out and dinner. Lance stayed home after he and Arthur exchanged gifts and drank coffee together, but the younger mechanic went over and spent time with the family he'd come to see as an extension of his own. They were incredibly kind and accepting, and that was all he could ask for. 

As far as gifts went, Vivi had gotten Arthur a new pin for his vest -- a skull in the style of their logo -- and a new game he'd been wanting. She got Lewis an alpaca plushie and what Arthur thought was a locket, but he'd been tackled by Lewis's sisters too quickly for him to see it properly. Arthur meanwhile had gotten Vivi a new scarf and Lewis a set of Sailor Moon DVDs he'd been eyeing for awhile. Overall it was a good Christmas, one that the mechanic was happy to spend with his closest friends. The three of them ended the night with softly spiced hot cocoa, huddled under blankets with light hearted movies to close the day.

New Years came quickly after that, and Arthur invited the pair over to the shop when the day was nearly over. He extended a ladder to the roof, helping Vivi and Lewis both up to a blanket he'd set up prior to their arrival. Prepared with canned popcorn and drinks, the three of them talked and laughed until the fireworks started going off across town. The first ones launched as the sun barely set over the plains, but the Mystery Skulls enjoyed watching them all around regardless. 

As midnight drew closer, the fireworks increased, leaving them all dazzled by the light show the town had to offer. When the clock struck the new year, business and residential areas alike sent off their colors in rapid succession. Lewis and Vivi were star eyed while Arthur grinned, taking in the sight above them all. He vaguely registered the couple at his side sharing a quick new years kiss, but managed to distract himself with the surround sound of explosions going off.

"Alright boys," Vivi laughed out, leaning to see them both with a bright grin as the noises began to die down, "resolution time! Let's hear them!"

Unprepared, Arthur and Lewis both fumbled for a brief second as they tried to come up with something.

"Wow," the girl shook her head,  _ tsking _ at them playing, "alright fine, I'll go first."

Pointing her thumb at herself proudly, she stated, "My resolution is to finish learning Japanese. You'd think I'd be fluent in it by now because of my dad, but you know! Things happen!"

Lewis leaned forward on his elbows thoughtfully, watching the trails of smoke scatter across the sky from all then fireworks. Smirking suddenly, he decided, "I know. I'll take up violin again. And morning jogging. It's been awhile since I've done either."

"Good," Vivi encouraged, clapping once. Leaning further, the blue girl grinned expectantly at Arthur, "what about you, Artie?"

With both pairs of eyes turned on him, Arthur gave a loose shrug and turned his own gaze up thoughtfully.  _ Be a better friend _ , was his first thought but he didn't exactly feel like opening up  _ that _ can of worms at the moment. He  _ was _ doing better with time, after all, so there was no need to vocalize the desire. 

So with a thoughtful hum, the mechanic tapped his fingers to his knee and said, "I think… maybe I’ll start looking into my mom's old robotic books again.” Turning his gaze to his friends, Arthur said with a small smirk, “Try my hand at building more props to sell, take some commissions, who knows. Cosplayers love that stuff.”

“Woah,” Vivi huffed wide eyed, then began to laugh, “heck yeah! I always wondered why you stopped.”

“Time,” Arthur laughed back with another shrug, “balancing work and hobbies can be hard sometimes, especially if your hobby is making lifesize, workable machine props.”

Vivi waved her hand about with her own shrug, “You’ve got a point, alright.”

"I can't wait to see what you come up with," Lewis added with an intrigued grin. The fact that Lewis was interested sent a small buzz of heat up Arthur's back, easily combating the cool chill of the night air.

Smiling back, Arthur nodded to the both of them earnestly, "Don't worry, you two will be the first to know."

A loud whistle and boom splintered across the sky, causing all three of them to jump in surprise. Arthur yelped, lifting his arms just slightly as he saw the explosion of color ripple across the sky with the noise. Oh, just a stray firework. Huffing, he looked back at the other two, seeing them both just as taken off guard and looking at one another. He didn't feel  _ as _ silly then.

Vivi was the first to crack. With a  _ snrk,  _ the girl buckled over in laughter into her own lap. The boys quickly followed with sputtered cackles, ending the past year with a bout of both embarrassed and amused laughter into the night. 

And what a way to send it off. 

From then on, the months came and went in casual succession. As was normal for resolutions, the Mystery Skulls tried their best to keep to their word. Vivi started taking her Japanese more seriously, Lewis began running in the early morning, and Arthur was often reading his mother's old medical and mechanical books when he wasn't working or with friends. He tinkered with things both in his room and the shop, often making mechanical endoskeletons of limbs copied from his own measurements just to mess around when they had spare parts and metals. 

Vivi asked him about opening up a shop, but he admitted he wanted to get better and more refined at it before he did anything more professional with his builds. He wouldn't be caught dead selling half baked props; Arthur was in it for authenticity and functionality.

There were several times Arthur would wake up from getting a text in the early hours, leaving him scrambling half asleep for his phone. Lewis often invited him to run, and while half the time Arthur turned him down, there were other times he conceded and joined the waiter in his jogging. It gave them a chance to spend more time together even if the mechanic was half zombified, though it usually faded once they started moving. Sometimes they'd listen to a podcast together as they ran, jam to music, or just talked about whatever sounded interesting. By the end of the route, Arthur was usually both tired and energized, ready to take on whatever the day had to throw at him. Plus it helped him sleep the next night too, which was a bonus since the mechanic tended to stay up later than he should and suffered from restless sleep on occasion.

Before he knew it, Arthur realized a year had officially passed since he and Vivi had met Lewis. His work anniversary at the Pepper Paradiso came out of nowhere, and the Peppers made him a small tray of cupcakes to celebrate one day when he came in. Completely taken off guard and touched, the mechanic rode that small wave of love he'd gotten all day from their kindness. He dropped two cupcakes off to Vivi when he was headed home, and spent the rest of the evening grasping the reality of time while sprawled on his bed. 

One whole year since he'd met Lewis, one whole year since… he'd really started crushing on the purple haired waiter. Arthur frowned gently at the thought, doing his best not to let it overtake him. Lewis and Vivi were happy and he didn't dare tell them  _ now _ that he still wanted Lewis for himself even after all the time that had passed. They'd been together for half a year! There was no point to it. He was okay with this arrangement. Or at least he told himself that constantly. 

He would be eventually. It's not like he saw Lewis or Vivi any less than he normally would if they  _ hadn't _ been dating.

Besides, more had come out of their friendship than his unrequited feelings. Arthur actually had another friend to hang out with besides Vivi, and they also had a new member of their ghost hunting team. The mechanic had a second family he could go to and the addition of Lewis to their gang just felt like the final puzzle piece clicked into place. Even with his complicated feelings, having Lewis around was like having a complete unit instead of a partial.

Sure Arthur and Vivi had been just fine without Lewis, but to ever return to a state like that? The thought itself just felt  _ wrong _ . They weren't "them" without Lewis.

More importantly, they weren't whole without  _ anyone _ of the group. No Arthur, no Vivi, no Lewis-- no dice. He couldn't possibly think of pulling away again just because of his feelings. He'd lose too much in the process.  _ In the end, you'll always have people who love you too and think like you. You just have to find them _ .

He found them, and he never planned to let them go. 

Nevertheless, it  _ did _ surprise him when half a year flew by and Vivi approached him at the shop. Lewis was behind her, smiling kindly when he caught Arthur's eye from under a hoisted vehicle. His heart stuttered and the mechanic did his best to swallow the sensation down as soon as he realized.  _ Come on man, we've been over this... _

Doing his damndest not to hit his head on the way up, Arthur weaved into a proper sit on a shop creeper and huffed in surprise, "Hey guys! Something up?" 

"Nothing bad," Vivi promised with a grin, "how much longer do you have here today?"

Raspberrying thoughtfully, the mechanic squinted at the car he was working on and grabbed a wipe rag to wring his hands through it, "Uh… maybe half an hour? This one is the only thing we have in line right now."

"Perfect," the girl proclaimed, crossing her arms. Her eyes were shining, and she motioned with her head for Lewis to come closer. He did so with a small wave, and Arthur cleared his throat softly and waved lazily --  _ shyly _ \-- back. What was Vivi planning exactly?

"Lewis and I were talking," she started, grinning softly at her boyfriend before turning that gaze to Arthur, "and we want to go out camping tomorrow night."

Ah, of course. It was their one year anniversary of dating. That made sense. Shifting the rag to one hand, Arthur raised the other and scratched at his neck idly, "Oh, that sounds like fun! Did you want to use the van then? You can pack more or sleep in the back if you need to."

"Well, yes," Lewis joined, glancing at Vivi briefly with a knowing smile then turned his full attention to Arthur, "but... we were hoping you'd come with us."

Arthur nearly jolted out of his seat. Go… with them? He couldn't respond quickly enough before Lewis continued, "We've been talking about it for a little while, so I made sure your schedule was clear for it too. If you wanted to go, I mean. We'd love to have you along."

"I--" the mechanic stammered, huffing out a breath as his heart started to race, "not that I'm complaining I mean, I appreciate you thinking about me but…" Frowning gently, Arthur scratched at the back of his neck again, "It's your guy's anniversary. Isn't three a crowd for that sorta thing?"

"Not if you're poly," Vivi beamed, giggling hard when both boys paused to look at her in wide-eyed confusion. Did Vivi just insinuate-- no, she was jesting. Although with Vivi, sometimes it was hard to tell. She  _ would _ be the type of person to settle for a relationship like that, Arthur wagered.

"And besides," she continued, "what Lew and I have means a lot to us -- but so do you. You're just as important as our relationship."

Arthur couldn't stop staring. They… really wanted him to go? To give up their privacy, their right to celebrate  _ just _ the two of them in order to bring him along? He didn't… rightly know what to say. He felt like he was intruding, but he'd been  _ invited _ . Can't really intrude on an invitation you're given.

"And another thing," Vivi went on in a near dramatic tone, "we never did anything for our one year friendiversary!  _ Or _ the founding of the complete Mystery Skulls gang! That's a crime in and of itself!" Clasping her hands together, the blue girl encouraged with a smile, "So if you feel weird about it, just think of it like that. This isn't for Lewis and me, it's for all of us. What'd ya say?"

"We'd really like you along," Lewis added in at her side, laying a gentle hand on Vivi's shoulder, "but no pressure."

No pressure, huh? How in the world could he say no? They'd thought of him and everything while formulating their getaway plan. At that point, it'd be rude to turn them down. In truth, Arthur was torn. He wanted to give them the privacy they deserved, but camping with his two best friends sounded like the break he needed from work. He'd barely realized so much time had passed with how busy he constantly was.

Maybe… maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Sucking in a breath, the mechanic sighed it out slowly and he smoothed a hand through his hair, "Well. I'd have to talk to uncle Lance and see if he'll need me but…"

With a glance upward, he felt his resolve crumble under both of their stares. Vivi was expectant and excited, while Lewis was keen and hopeful. How in the world could he turn  _ that _ down?

Breaking into a tired smile, Arthur said, "I guess what I have to say is… when do we leave?"

Vivi threw her hands up in excitement and Lewis beamed a brighter grin. That was all the reaction he needed to know he'd made the right choice.

"We leave tomorrow at noon," Vivi exclaimed happily, "so make sure you're packed by morning, cause we're doing lunch too!"

Adopting his own grin, Arthur couldn't help but laugh and nod, "Sounds like a plan to me."

The excitement alone from both Vivi and Lewis spoke volumes. Even when they could in all fairness go on their own, the two of them would much rather bring Arthur along instead. And they were  _ happy _ for it. He almost didn't feel deserving of it, but he knew better.

They loved him just as much as he loved them. It showed, and that was all that mattered.

As soon as the pair left, Arthur went to run the plan by his uncle. Lance thought about it only for a moment before dismissing his nephew for the next few days. Arthur only realized he was more excited than he anticipated after he'd rushed home and started sorting through his clothes to figure out what he had that was clean and would survive the next day or two. He settled on casual things and rolled them into a backpack he barely used, then promptly sent a message to the Mystery Skulls group chat to let the other two know he was clear to tag along.

Both Vivi and Lewis sent back excitedly happy responses, goading a smile from the blond mechanic as they texted back and forth. He went to bed that night with a feeling of quiet excitement for the trip, sighing the stress from work into his pillow. His jobs weren’t  _ hard _ but they were time consuming, and a vacation with his friends was just what he needed to start rebalancing his life.   
  
And despite what Vivi said, ghost hunting was  _ not _ a relaxing vacation.


	10. You're Music To My Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _And would you come with me to a place in my dream?  
>  Would you follow me, could it be alright?  
> And would you come with me to a place my my dream?  
> You're music to my eyes_  
> N u m b e r O n e

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've made it to 10 chapters! I hope everyone has been enjoying the ride so far :D It means a lot to have you all along and to see your reactions and comments, they honestly make my day. And we're just about to the halfway point! In celebration, I commissioned a friend of mine -- [Ginger-Goats-Galore](https://ginger-goats-galore.tumblr.com/post/614852338031706112/youre-music-to-my-eyes-woo-ive-been-excited-to) \-- to do a piece for the chapter and it looks AWESOME. You'll come across it as you read. Until then, I hope you enjoy!

Even if he had found himself enjoying jogging in the morning, Arthur woke up the next morning thankful for his alarm going off instead of a text notification. He knew he was likely going to be the one driving the van to their location of choice, so he was glad for any extra sleep he got. After feeding Galahad for the morning and grabbing his pack, the mechanic shot his uncle a text to let him know he was leaving and set off for his friends' houses.

Vivi was up and ready to go as he pulled up into her driveway, bustling out the door with her own cargo. She bounced into the passenger side with Mystery trotting behind her, the dog jumping up and giving Arthur a second face wash for the day.

Sputtering a laugh, the mechanic nudged Mystery away with a grin, “Hey! My face is clean already! But good morning to you too, boy.”

“He’s excited to go into the woods,” Vivi explained with a giggle, buckling her seatbelt all the while, “he  _ always _ gets wound up when we do wilderness stuff.”

“Swear he thinks he’s a bigger dog than what he is,” Arthur chuckled as he looked over his shoulder to pull out of the driveway. In response, Mystery promptly sat beside him and puffed out his chest, showing off his question mark license in the early afternoon sun. Smirking, the lanky man reached out and ruffled his mane of fur aggressively, “Yeah yeah, watch yourself big dog or you’ll fall off the seat.”

In retaliation -- or so Arthur thought -- Mystery laid halfway on the mechanic's lap until they got to Lewis' house. As per normal of their trips now, the waiter joined them with a cooler to be put in the back, packed with all sorts of drinks and food to heat up via firepit. 

Their first stop was to gas the van up for the trip and buy any last minute convenience store items that grabbed their interest. From there, the group went to the Pepper's restaurant for a casual lunch. Since they already knew the dog and he was well behaved, Mystery was allowed inside and chilled by the table while the gang ate and chatted about where they were going to go.

Lewis and Vivi had decided on a woodland campsite area not far from a highway exit, and after looking up pictures, Arthur was intrigued about what the place had in store. He'd gone camping a few times with Vivi before and vaguely recalled the site, but he wagered it was one of their first trips if his memory was that fuzzy on it.

"So I think we have everything," Vivi said as she counted things off on her fingers, "food, water, fire starters, tents, sleeping bags -- I have yours Artie don't worry -- uhhh, extra blankets?"

"Your baseball bat," Lewis laughed into his drink with a grin.

"Yes!" The girl exclaimed, smacking her hands to the table, "Mystery will protect us but what if we come across some vicious things in the woods? Like  _ ghouls--" _

"I really doubt we will," Arthur smirked her way. "But if you feel safer with it, by all means."

Vivi giggled in response, and it wasn't long afterwards that the crew paid up and started on their way out. As suspected, Arthur took the driver's seat while Lewis and Vivi leaned on one another. The mechanic was too focused on the road most of the time to catch what they were saying, but it was about half an hour out before they reached their exit and he pulled off onto the trail. 

With careful maneuvering down the trail that  _ really _ wasn't made for vehicles larger than a small car, Arthur managed to find a spot to the groups liking. It had a safe area to park the van as well as plenty of room to set up tents and chairs. There was even the start of a firepit ready for them.

It didn't take long before everyone was out of the van and assisting in unloading. Vivi took up position in the van itself and passed items to Arthur who in turn gave them to Lewis to set around the site how he saw fit. She passed the mechanic an oddly shaped soft case and he paused to laugh before handing it to Lewis.

Grinning over at Vivi with a raised brow, he asked, "You brought your guitar?"

The blue girl nodded excitedly, her eyes shining when she looked up, "Campfire songs! It was  _ made _ for this."

Arthur shook his head in amusement and helped pass out the rest of their supplies. Alright, that  _ did _ sound fun. Acoustic guitar strumming by firelight? He could get behind that. 

It was only a few more items before the van was appropriately unloaded and the two of them hopped out. After picking out spots to set up, the boys got to work building their tents around the fire pit remains. A good portion of it was spent in rather companionable silence, at least until someone swore because they attached a piece wrong and provoked the others to laugh. 

Arthur was the first one to have his tent up and the mechanic promptly drug his sleeping bag roll into the tent. He pulled in one of the extra blankets as well as his backpack, then tilted his head up to smirk when he saw Mystery poke his head through the flap to check it out.

Shifting back out of the tent, he and Mystery went to aid Lewis in his final steps of setting his own up. And by helping, Mystery drug pieces over while Lewis and Arthur clicked things in place. Vivi already had her chair and the cooler placed between her and Lewis's tent and Arthur's by the time the actual tent was done. 

"You've done this a lot," Lewis laughed out, grabbing his own foldable chair to set up. Vivi merely nodded with her casual grin.

"Camping is a treat," she explained happily, "One we like to do once a year."

All and all, their little camp was all set up before sundown even started. The only thing that hadn't been started was the firepit, but they all decided they wanted it to get a little later before they sparked it up. Instead, the three of them plus Mystery decided to explore further along the path. Leaving the quaint little area behind, the friends trekked into the trees beyond the tents.

It was a beautiful day out, not too hot and the sky only harboring a stray cloud or two. Wildlife in the trees were softly active with the breeze, and Arthur couldn't help but glance up and watch the branches sway from time to time. The campsite wasn't incredibly active so there was a pleasant mix of natural quietness with the sounds of other people barely on the edge of his senses.

Just outside their camp, the trail went upward along a small hill with a break in the trees at the top. Arthur decided that it was a nice spot to stargaze later if someone else didn't claim the little area. He made a mental note to possibly check it out later. After that the trail leveled out more, weaving around other campsite areas both occupied and unoccupied alike. They walked slowly, enjoying the scenery as they went and taking in the idle sounds of the woods and other campers they happened to pass.

The group only stopped when they hit a lake that split the path sharply off. They stopped for a little bit to sit at the shore, Vivi getting the idea of skipping rocks and seeing who could get the furthest. After declaring Lewis the skipping winner with Vivi as a close second, the group of friends turned back with lighthearted chuckles and nearly having to restrain Mystery from chasing after a particularly fat squirrel.

On the way back they'd found a few small ponds along the path surrounded by moss and bushes, having been mostly masked by the foliage on their first pass through. Vivi suggested they check them out but ultimately deciding they probably shouldn't go for a swim with it being close to sundown -- despite how daring the blue girl wanted to be. Lewis and Arthur managed to convince her otherwise with shared laughter, and the trio made it back to their camp as the sun began to shift.

"We have  _ got  _ to go swimming next time we come here," Vivi decided, flopping down in her chair. Mystery padded over to sit beside her, his ears calmly up and watching them with what Arthur thought was a canine smirk. "Or even tomorrow before we leave! Let's go tomorrow guys!"

Lewis nodded as he knelt down nearby, pilfering through one of their bags of supplies, "Sounds good to me! Last time I went swimming wasn't even actual swimming, it was just setting up a kiddie pool in the backyard for the girls."

"I'm up for it," Arthur offered with a laugh. From her spot, Vivi threw her arms up in triumph and let out a quick cheer that evoked a laugh from both guys. "Might as well take advantage of the weather, right?"

Just ahead of him, Lewis let out a small noise of triumph. Finding what he was searching for, Arthur realized the waiter had been going for the firestarter. He and Lewis piled on a stack of firewood they'd brought, then the purple boy went along lighting it up. Within a few minutes, they had a comfortable, crackling fire as the sky began to turn different shades of pink and orange. 

Next the boys picked through the cooler and passed around drinks, digging through the contents as they pulled out food items. As the sky darkened slowly behind them, the friends skewered hot dogs and marshmallows alike over the fire. They ate dinner and relaxed in the shadow of the evening, listening to the fire crackle and the sound of cicada songs filling the forest beyond them.

"This was such a good idea," Vivi hummed around a s'more, her eyes focused above the boughs of trees, "get away from town, no busy streets, just a couple'a friends out in the woods."

"Agreed," Arthur nodded with a smile and a tip of his drink. Honestly, the day had felt refreshing. No shop orders, no customers, no  _ ghosts, _ just him and his closest friends enjoying the outdoors. Yeah, he'd needed this.

After dinner and with the first signs of stars shimmering to life in the deep purple sky, Lewis turned to his girlfriend and held a hand out imploring. Vivi grabbed it with a curious look and the mechanic heard him say, "Do you want to play your guitar? It's a beautiful time for it."

"Oh," Vivi gasped, scrambling up with a grin, "yeah! I'll get it."

Darting over to their tent, only a few seconds passed of shuffling before Vivi backed out with her guitar case. She set it down by her chair and pulled the polished instrument out, settling back in her seat as she vaguely tested the strings to see if they were in tune. 

Seemingly satisfied, the blue girl sat up with a grin, "Any requests?"

"Can you try a tune for me?" Lewis asked, scooting his chair closer to hers.

Vivi paused thoughtfully then gave a nod, "Sure! Can you hum it?"

As the two of them went back and forth, Arthur shifted upward and cleaned up the paper plates they'd used for dinner. He returned to his seat heavily with a content sigh when Vivi started testing a strum pattern. The mechanic watched with interest, not recognizing the tune but enjoying the sound of the chords regardless. Beside Vivi, Mystery had his head tilted and was watching the acoustic instrument.

"Perfect," Lewis grinned then cleared his throat. What came next took Arthur by surprise, watching with widened eyes as a voice in tune with the music escaped the waiter.

_ "This spell you got on me, _

_ It's like magic, _

_ Got me feeling like I'm fallin' in love, _

_ Got me feeling like I'll never give up on, _

_ Got me feeling like I'll never give up on you." _

When the blond boy glanced over at Vivi briefly, he could see the wide eyed surprise on her face too, slowly taken by a grin. Arthur knew Lewis could sing, he liked to sing at work a lot, but he'd never really heard his voice with  _ music _ . It was a different feeling all together. He was... completely entranced.

" _ It's like magic, _

_ I got you feeling like you're fallin' in love, _

_ I got you feeling like you'll never give up on, _

_ Got you feeling like you'll never give up on– _ "

Lewis repeated the verse a few times, the music tuning to his voice even more. Despite Vivi's surprise, she sobered enough to pick up on the exact tune quickly and started playing along a little more eagerly, grinning wide and shaking with giggles that were mostly masked by the acoustic voice of the guitar. 

_ "It's not the way you wear your hair, _

_ Or your dress cut down to there, _

_ Oh no, _

_ It's not the way you move your eyes, _

_ Though it took me by surprise, _

_ Oh no! _ "

As the song continued, Arthur found it hard to look away from the purple boy. His face was warm and it was hard to tell if it was from emotion or the firepit, and he clearly noticed most of Lewis's attention was on Vivi. There'd be a time or two he'd glance Arthur's way as he sang, but as far as he was concerned, Lewis's eyes were for Vivi. The  _ song _ was for Vivi.

" _ Before this night is over, _

_ I pull your body closer, _

_ I wanna give it to you, _

_ I wanna get back, _

_ Before this night is over, _

_ I pull your body closer _ ."

Vivi was giggling hard, nearly sinking behind her guitar, but she kept on playing as Lewis picked up the chorus again. Arthur looked between them quietly, his own heart racing from being smitten by the waiter's voice, but it became clear in that moment that maybe he shouldn't be there. It  _ was  _ their anniversary, this moment was for them. Not for him. He… almost felt like an intruder of the worst kind.

"Oh my goodness," the blue girl laughed aloud in delight as her strumming stopped, "that was beautiful! Did you write that, Lew?"

Nearly bashful, Lewis nodded with a smile and a laugh of his own. Catching his breath, he motioned to her, "Up for another?"

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, lighting up, "what'cha got?"

When Lewis started humming another tune, Arthur started thinking over ways to get up that wouldn't be awkward. He didn't want to bring attention to himself, he wanted the two of them to enjoy their evening, but he couldn't help but feel that wave of jealousy crawl under his skin. He didn't want to feel it, he didn't  _ want _ to be jealous of his oldest friend, but it was hard.  _ You should be over this… _

Just when Arthur decided that maybe he should fake a bathroom break, there was a weight on his lap that made him jump slightly. Looking down, he was greeted by Mystery stretching across his leg and effectively pinning him in his spot. Arthur hadn't even seen him leave his place beside Vivi. The dog looked up with those keen eyes of his, and something about them almost asked if he was doing okay.

Accepting the fact that maybe he was just a dog whisperer, the mechanic spared Mystery a tired smile and combed his fingers through his fur. Arthur supposed he had no other choice; he was trapped, whether he liked it or not. Maybe the next song would be easier to stomach.

" _ So glad I found you, _

_ So glad I found you girl, _

_ I been dreaming 'bout you, _

_ You got me feeling extra good, ooh! _ "

The voice cut through his thoughts, bringing Arthur's attention back up to the singer. His accelerated heart rate returned, but with it a small pit of dread in his stomach. It  _ didn't  _ sound like an easier one to sit through.

" _ And would you come with me to a place in my dream? _

_ Would you follow me, could it be alright? _

_ And would you come with me to a place in my dream? _

_ You're music to my eyes _ !"

As the song went on, Arthur found his eyes drifting more and more to the fire. It was easier to listen when he wasn't watching the boy he had feelings for singing directly and lovingly to someone else. His attention snapped up however when a new voice started singing, looking at the girl behind the guitar.

" _ I think I found my number one _

_ You could never be a one-hit wonder, _

_ I don't need to write another love song, _

_ 'Cause baby you're my number one!" _

Lewis looked absolutely  _ delighted _ . The two of them harmonized in a chorus of repeated "number one" as Arthur maintained his quiet stare. Something bumped his hand and he looked down quickly, realizing Mystery had his head under Arthur's hand and was looking up at him imploringly. Oh, he'd stopped petting him at some point. Sighing quietly, Arthur gave an apologetic smile and continued his strokes, looking up only when the strumming of the guitar stopped.

"That was incredible," Vivi beamed, looking at her boyfriend in excitement, "You're so good at this."

"And you're so good at  _ that _ ," Lewis motioned toward the guitar, "Your singing was beautiful too."

Giggling, Vivi smoothed a hand over her hair and gave a loose shrug, "Aw shucks."

The rest of their conversation was lost on Arthur as he looked away, staring into the fire and fighting against a frown. There he was, invited on this trip, and he was  _ brooding  _ about a choice outside of his control. For the umpteenth time he reminded himself he should be happy for them, he should let it go, and just enjoy their friendship. The cruelness of it all was he  _ did _ enjoy their friendship, he enjoyed every bit of it. Vivi and Lewis kept him afloat more than anyone. And yet…

Sighing out deeply, the mechanic gave Mystery's back a quick pat. The dog looked up curiously, only moving when Arthur nudged him with his leg and rose into a stand. He avoided the dog's gaze and rubbed at his neck, stretching his other arm over his head.

Over the crackle of the fire, he heard Vivi ask, "You good, Artie?"

"Yeah," Arthur yawned, moving the hand off his neck to scrub into his hair, "I just want to move around a bit."

Pointing over his shoulder and turning with the motion, he continued while strategically avoiding all eye contact, "I'm gonna go check out a hill I saw just past the treeline earlier. I bet it has a good view right now."

"Oh, okay," the girl called after him, and Arthur caught the confusion in her tone, "be safe! Shout for us if you need to!"

Smiling over his shoulder, Arthur gave a wave before turning to face the woods completely. The smile dropped as soon as his face was turned away, eyes downcast on the ground while he walked. He idly fished his phone from his pocket, flicking on the flashlight to help light his path in the dark. He just had to get away, just for a moment, just to breathe. 

Ahead of him the path began to slope and Arthur vaguely glanced up. Sure enough, the hill stretched ahead of him. Better yet, there wasn't any sign of activity from the top either. Perfect. With a deep sigh, the mechanic trudged up the slope and paused only once he reached the soft round peak of the hill. He looked around, able to see a few trails of smoke from other fires lit in other parts of the forest. Flicking his gaze upward, stars winked against the deep blue of the night sky down at him. It was clearer than it ever was in Tempo and just from the sight, some of the nastiness in his stomach eased.

With a huff, Arthur settled on the ground and slipped into laying down on his back. He crossed his arms behind his head, staring upward without seeing much into the night sky. Despite not really being far from camp, he couldn't catch Vivi or Lewis's voices and while usually that would make him nervous, in that moment it was just what he needed. He hated how their couple talk made him feel sick, how any affection drove a sour taste into his mouth. He had gotten  _ so good _ at not letting it get to him, and yet… it all just got too much sometimes. 

Lifting a hand with a groan, Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose and let the hand fall onto his face.  _ When are you going to get over this, it's been a year now. They're together and they're staying together, and you should be fine with that. There's so many more guys out there aside from Lewis, just find someone else instead of trying to steal Vivi's. It's pretty obvious he's not interested, so stop chasing something you can't have _ .

Those thoughts and more spiraled through his head as his hand slid to lay over his stomach. Eventually they quieted down, his half lidded vision still fixed on the sky even if he wasn't really focused on the stars. At least, until there was a noise. Tensing, Arthur listened to the sound of footfalls tracing at the bottom of the hill then slowly growing louder.

As a plume of purple appeared over the edge, a voice called, "Arthur?"

Before he could respond, their eyes met. Arthur blinked in mild surprise at Lewis, sparing a small smile and giving a lazy wave, "Hey, I'm here."

Lewis relaxed upon seeing him, a smile of his own breaking over his face and the boy hauled himself the rest of the way up the hill. Stepping over toward him, the waiter knelt down near Arthur's shoulder, "You okay? You seemed a little off when you left."

Fighting to keep the conflict off his face, Arthur instead smiled and nodded as he scrambled for an excuse, "Yeah, I'm good. I think the smoke was getting to me, it was blowing my way a lot at the end there."

Understanding washed over the other boy's face and he moved to sit beside Arthur. Huffing out a yawn, Lewis tossed his head back lazily to stare at the sky, his eyes widening after a split second, "Makes sense. And wow did you pick a good spot."

Arthur kept his eyes on Lewis for a moment longer, watching him as heat bloomed over his face. Swallowing it down, the mechanic followed his gaze up at the stars, "Yeah. I saw it when we left earlier and kept it in mind, and well. Came in handy."

Nodding, Lewis looked down at Arthur with a raised brow, "Mind if I join? Vivi decided to lay down already. I think she has plans to watch the sunrise then go swimming."

Snorting a laugh, Arthur made a vague hand motion then set his hand on the ground, "Go for it. And that definitely sounds like her."

With Arthur's approval, Lewis moved to lay down close to his side. Even if the mechanic had retreated to get away, he wouldn't deny Lewis spending time with him. He loved both of his friend's company, it was just when the affection started that… it got too much. For that moment at least, he was mostly over those gross feelings.

"You don't see nearly as many stars in Tempo," Lewis breathed beside him in soft wonder.

Arthur shook his head, letting a soft smile return, "You really don't, not with the light pollution and all."

"I can see why you decided to stay up here," the boy at his side chuckled. "I bet the girls would love to go camping one day. I could even bring them to this same spot."

Tilting his head a little to glance at Lewis, the mechanic smirked, "So long as you can keep them out of trouble. That's the real challenge."

A laugh passed between the two of them before a companionable hush settled over the boys. Arthur enjoyed it, and only blinked in surprise when Lewis said, "I really do appreciate you coming out with us."

Looking over again, Arthur's gaze fell onto Lewis's face. His eyes were still upward, but he wore a pleasant expression as he continued, "Inviting you wasn't just Vivi's idea. I knew getting you out of the shop and store would do you some good. You work so hard all the time, you deserve a break just like the rest of us."

Quietly taken aback, Arthur adopted a grateful smile, "Thank you. Really, I… I should be saying I appreciate the two of you, honestly. I was worried I'd be intruding."

"Nah," Lewis laughed softly, looking over with his own smile, "like Vivi said, it's a friendiversary too. It would've been weird if you  _ weren't  _ with us."

Eased a little to know he wasn't just an awkward tag along, Arthur rolled his head back to look up at the sky again with his smile staying. At least this trip hadn't been a  _ complete _ mistake. In fact, he'd been enjoying it all up until the singing. He couldn't let one thing get him down. Not only that, it was good to know Lewis hadn't just gone along with Arthur tagging along just to appease Vivi. Lewis  _ wanted _ him there too. Sure Lewis's face had said the exact same thing when he'd been invited, but poisonous thoughts… had a way of poisoning memories too.

Arthur wasn’t sure exactly how much time had passed when he realized the sound of Lewis’s breathing had changed beside him. Glancing over quickly, indeed he noticed the waiter’s eyes closed and his chest slowly rising and falling. All Arthur could manage was a small, loving smirk. And here he’d thought he  _ himself _ would be the first one to fall asleep that night from the drive. At first Arthur wondered if he should wake him and have them head back to camp so they could sleep properly. Then again, it  _ was _ a nice night out. Closing one's eyes under the stars wasn’t a terrible thing.  _ Ah well, let him sleep for a bit. _

His eyes trailed down a little, settling on the hand at Lewis’s side and realizing suddenly that their hands were actually resting really close to one another. A rush of heat raced up Arthur’s back and he frowned tightly, shooting his gaze back up at the sky as his cheeks started to burn. Of  _ course  _ a thought crossed his mind as his fingers twitched, but… did he dare? It was Lewis sure, but it was  _ Lewis. _ He had a girlfriend, his girlfriend was  _ Vivi, _ wouldn’t that be wrong of him to make even the most innocent move on not only his friend, but his best friend’s boyfriend?

Sucking in a quiet breath, Arthur closed his eyes in conflict. Hand holding was innocent, it was the tamest anyone could do besides hugging or leaning. Right? There were so many worse things he could do to betray his friends trust than holding Lewis’s hand. That act alone wasn’t anything like cheating. Besides, Lewis was an affectionate person anyway. Was it… really left field for him to do something like that with a good friend?

_ This is dumb, you’ll regret this, don’t do it Kingsmen, _ he thought as he fixed the sky with a hard stare. However a stroke of bravery had stolen him and Arthur quietly glanced over at the other boy. Still asleep. Biting his lip, the mechanic shifted his hand across the grass and slowly, carefully moved it under Lewis’s wrist. Twisting his hand, he glanced back and forth between the hands and Lewis’s face rapidly in case he stirred. Their palms met with a flutter inside Arthur’s chest, and he released a sigh as he curled his hand ever softly around the tanner one. 

To his immense relief, Lewis didn’t wake up. Tilting his head back to rest normally, Arthur let his eyes close and just… enjoy the moment. It was a silly thing, a  _ stupid _ thing, but he couldn’t help but feel calmed by it. He could just enjoy the fact he had Lewis’s hand in his own after wanting that for  _ months _ and that they were together, even as just friends. Even… if Lewis was asleep, and… he had his hand on Lewis and Vivi’s  _ anniversary. _

Furrowing his brow at himself, Arthur opened his eyes and looked down at the hands between them. Even if he wanted this, it was wrong. It wasn’t his moment to have, and he  _ knew _ his motive behind this wasn’t one of a friend.  _ What are you doing? _

Sighing to himself, Arthur slowly loosened his grip and attempted to wiggle his hand free -- only to receive a squeeze to his hand. Heart jumping, the mechanic blinked in surprise when the other boy closed Arthur’s in his own to keep him there. Looking up quickly, the blonde boy confirmed his friend was still asleep, but there was a possibility if he tried to pull away again he might wake Lewis up.  _ Well… just enjoy it I suppose. You got what you wanted. _

Face still warm, Arthur breathed out quietly to calm himself and did just that: let it happen. He closed his hand back around Lewis’s, holding it gently as he kept tired eyes up on the sky. Even so, a small smile crept up onto his face. 

It wasn’t long before movement caught his eye. Sucking in a quiet breath, Arthur casually loosened his grip as his mind slammed into panic mode. Lewis raised his free hand, rubbing it over his face as he slowly woke back up. What could Arthur say? He had to come up with something quick before the moment turned  _ painfully _ awkward.

Yawning, the waiter squinted his eyes open and squeezed his other hand. Surprise blinked across his face and Lewis lifted his head, first looking at the hands then at Arthur. Catching his eye, the mechanic wheezed a nervous laugh and let their hands fall apart, saying, “I think you thought I was Vivi in your sleep.”

Startled, Lewis huffed a breath and dissolved into a laugh himself as he shifted up into a sit. He scrubbed a hand over his face, rasping out, “Oh, jeez-- sorry about that. I must’ve been _ really  _ tired.”

_ Holy crap that worked. _ Waving his hand dismissively, Arthur pushed himself up into a sit as well, reeling from the fact that  _ actually worked. _ Shrugging, he yawned, “Don’t worry about it. I’m not offended. How many times have we fallen asleep on each other?”

Lewis seemed to calm a little at that, and the mechanic continued with a friendly smile, “But why don’t we go ahead and head back? That way we’re not exposed to all the bugs.”

“Good idea,” the waiter laughed, shifting slowly into a stand. His body trembled with a stretch, turning thereafter to halfway extend a hand out to Arthur. He paused though, as if considering something, only to smirk to himself and offer the hand fully. The mechanic took it with his own shyer smirk, standing as he was pulled upward and hearing Lewis say, “Probably for the best, I might accidentally try and cuddle you next.”

It took all his willpower for Arthur not to jolt at the idea and he was  _ incredibly _ grateful for the fact it was dark out to hide the blush that surged across his face at the thought.  _ I would… not mind, Lew. _ Laughing instead, Arthur let his hand go when Lewis released it, “Y-yeah. Let’s not embarrass ourselves  _ too _ much.”

Lewis grinned and clapped his friend on the back, then turned to lead them back down the hill. In the moment that the boy’s back was turned, Arthur let a warm, smitten smile settle on his face. Tucking his hands in his pockets, he stepped down after the waiter with his eyes on his back, letting his mind entertain the prospected idea if only for a moment. A slow, quiet sigh passed through him, knowing he shouldn’t get his hopes up… but it wasn’t a crime to dream.

_ I really, really wouldn’t mind. _


	11. There's No Turning Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I believe it  
>  Someone's here  
> They can see me  
> And where I'm goin'  
> I've been sleepless  
> In my head  
> Feels like they're watching me_  
> L o s i n g M y M i n d

Morning came with an excited Vivi calling inside his tent until Arthur snapped awake with a snort. Her voice was insistent and urgent with impatience, and the mechanic only pulled himself through the tent flap groggily before he realized it was still dark outside with cricket song in full bloom. What on  _ earth...? _

Lewis was out of the tent too, looking a little more awake than Arthur but definitely not on Vivi's level. Those early morning runs had treated him nicely. Vivi meanwhile eagerly urged them onward, and before Arthur knew it, he was back on the hill him and Lewis had laid on the previous night. The thought immediately made him glance over at the waiter, his eyes traveling to a hand in a quick glance, before snapping his focus back to the present.

Content, Vivi dragged the boys down to sit on either side of her. Mystery had come along too and promptly laid himself in Arthur's lap, letting the mechanic keep his tired hands busy by gently stroking him. Still trying to wake up, Arthur attempted to ask what was going on as he yawned. From the sound of Lewis's chuckle, it had likely been unintelligible. It didn't matter however as Vivi pointed over the line of trees.

"It's sunrise," the girl managed both quietly and enthusiastically, "look over the trees."

Obliging, Arthur let his eyes travel over the mass of foliage ahead of them. They weren't  _ quite _ as dark as they were last night. In fact, none of the sky was. The abysmal deep blue had given way to a steadily softer blue, mingling with a milky tinge along the line of trees. Blinking in quiet surprise, Arthur sat there and watched as a hush fell over the trio. The crickets turned to birdsong as the night sky shifted into morning, painting the sky slowly bluer and brighter as the evening faded. 

Eventually, rays of light glimmered through and over the trees, both blinding and warming in their streaks. The sun only rose a little higher above them before Vivi seemed satisfied. Shoving herself back up into a stand, she announced that breakfast was now needed and turned to skid down the hill. Lewis and Arthur spared each other an amused glance before the mechanic coaxed the sleeping dog off his lap and the pair of them set off.

The boys joined Vivi back at camp not long after she'd gotten down, and the group settled for protein snack bars as their breakfast. Vivi was ready to go and quickly changed into something she deemed swim appropriate, bustling with energy as she emerged from the tent. When Arthur humorously questioned her enthusiasm, the girl planted her hands on her hips and tilted her chin up.

"I want to do things," she announced, "and we've only got today left to do 'em before we become slaves to capitalism again!"

Thrown off but amused, Arthur sputtered a laugh and looked over at Lewis. Well, couldn't fight that logic he supposed. Turning back with a raised brow, Arthur teased, "But you love sleeping in. It's rare to see you like this."

"Camping is an exception to the rule and you know that," Vivi bit back playfully, "now move it or lose it boys! I'll just take Mystery with me if I gotta!"

Thoroughly entertained and not quite zombied anymore, Arthur got up and changed into a pair of shorts and an extra sleep shirt he'd brought. When he exited the tent, they only had to wait a few seconds longer before Lewis joined them in his own shorts and a tank top. The friends set out shortly after, and it took more effort than Arthur wanted to admit not to openly stare at Lewis. Well, at least it was harmless. 

For the better part of the day, the Mystery Skulls hung out at the lake under a near cloudless sky. They cycled between swimming, sitting on the shore, more stone skipping, and playing water games like Marco polo to pass the day. It wasn't until later in the afternoon did they drag themselves from the lapping water, huffing in quiet exhaustion but grinning nonetheless from enjoying themselves. Swimming had  _ definitely _ been a good idea.

There was a public restroom shack not far from the lake and everyone took turns taking a shower to wash the lake grime off. While Arthur waited his turn, he looked up at the sky and idly watched a few more clouds appear. Vivi was at his side, toweling Mystery off from when she’d sprayed him down after her own quick shower.

"Guess we timed that right," the mechanic mused, arms crossed loosely.

Looking up herself, Vivi adjusted her glasses and raised her brows a little, "Ohh yeah, coulda got rained on." With a devilish grin, the girl added as she stood and elbowed him, "Oh no, getting wet while already in water! Tragic!"

Swatting back at her playfully, Arthur laughed, "Well it  _ is _ if it's a cold rain! Warm rain wouldn't be so bad."

"Yeah yeah well," Vivi giggled, nudging him toward the shack as Lewis stepped out, "go get rained on anyway to get the fish smell off."

Shaking his head hard, Arthur grinned in satisfaction at Vivi’s squeak of surprise and her shove to send him further away. As he got his footing back and traded places with Lewis, he caught the waiter laughing at their antics. Arthur shot a grin after the tanner boy before shutting himself inside to shower.

When they were all done, the group of friends headed back to the campsite slowly to enjoy one last swipe of the scenery. Arthur noticed more and more that their relatively clear day was darkening steadily, but no rumbles of thunder or drops of rain came down on their way back. He’d look at Mystery every now and again, but the dog seemed utterly unbothered by the weather and instead trotted pleasantly at Vivi’s side.

Regardless, once they returned to their camp, the three of them worked at tearing the tents down and loading their things into the van. They decided to stay until sundown unless the weather got bad, but to avoid any sudden downpour damage, they figured it was best to stow their valuables someplace dry. Once the tents and bags were loaded into the van, they each took turns in getting out of their swim clothes in the back of the van and into more appropriate attire. Arthur couldn't help but notice Vivi wore the scarf he'd gotten her for Christmas since the clouds had started to cool everything down, or the fact that Lewis seemed to out dress them all even on such a casual day. He was… just fine with that.

Lewis and Arthur again started the fire pit for a brief late lunch once it was all said and done. As they roasted hot dogs, Arthur would snap off bits of one and toss them to an eagerly waiting Mystery who sat patiently beside him.

“You spoil him,” Vivi teased from where she lounged in the back of the van. Glancing over at her, Arthur was given a playful sneer from beneath the scarf before she went back to reading something on her phone.

“One of us has to,” the blonde hummed back, grinning, “Look at him! He’s sooo starved for attention.”

Vivi let out a sound of disbelief, squinting over at the boys, “If that’s starved, I’m afraid to see bloated!”

Both Lewis and Arthur laughed at that and to add to the moment, Mystery let out a bark that Arthur swore was a feign for innocence. 

“You know,” Lewis chuckled, pointing his elbow at the dog with a cheeky grin, “I think he’s got a point.”

Vivi groaned dramatically, “Not you too.”

An air of amusement hung over the trio thereafter, and the boys joined Vivi in the back of the van once dinner was done cooking. They relaxed as they ate, winding down from the activity of the day that had started unexpectedly early. As time went on, Arthur slowly felt fatigue grapple at the end of his thoughts and weigh behind his eyes. It had taken him a little while to fall asleep the previous night, then waking up before sunrise to add on top of that with all the physical activity of swimming, the mechanic was quickly finding himself exhausted. 

"You okay, bud?"

Blinking in quiet surprise, Arthur looked up to see Lewis watching him with a small, amused smile and a raised brow. Biting back a flush and a cough, the mechanic straightened up where he sat and cleared his throat. He didn't remember sinking so low while sitting.

"Yeah," he laughed, immediately slipping into a yawn, "I was just woken up  _ really  _ early this morning."

Without looking up, Vivi stuck her tongue out at him, "And you would'a missed an awesome sunrise with your best friends if you hadn't been."

“True, true,” Arthur smirked. Combing a hand through his hair, the mechanic let it slide down to idly scratch at his jaw, “I dunno how you do this every day, Lew.”

“Oh,” the waiter huffed, laughing and loosely shrugging, “it becomes habit. Even then today was a little early for me too.”

“I say we go home and absolutely  _ crash _ ,” the blonde boy yawned again, shaking his head with it. Off to Lewis’s side, his girlfriend gave a giggle and tucked her phone away.

Straightening himself up as well, Lewis motioned toward the mechanic, “Well, if you want I can drive us back to Tempo and you can catch a quick nap? I don’t mind.”

Lifting his brows a little, Arthur offered a half smile. A nap… didn’t sound half bad. Road signs always warned people to pull over if they were an exhausted driver, and while Arthur didn’t  _ feel _ like he was in a particularly dangerous state, there was no point in risking it. To the offer, he asked, “You sure?”

“Of course,” Lewis laughed good heartedly, “after all the times you’ve driven us places? I think it’s about time I pulled a little bit of weight and gave you a break.”

Arthur laughed himself and nodded, swiveling where he sat to dangle his legs off the side of the van, “You pull plenty, man. And well, if you’re alright with that, I’d… actually appreciate that.”

In return, Lewis gave him a genuine smile. With a lightness in his chest, Arthur watched his friends for a little bit longer before all of them started to gather and secure the rest of their things. The campfire was doused of all embers and they watched it for a few minutes just to be safe, then Arthur went about setting up his sleeping bag in the back of the van. He offered to at least drive them out of the woods but Lewis declined with a laugh, just fine with getting them to where they needed to be out of the campsite.

With a final slam of the back doors, Arthur settled in the back and let out a loud yawn as he flopped onto the sleeping bag. The van floor wasn’t much better than the bumpy forest one, but at least his sleeping bag masked a  _ little _ of the roughness. It took him a few minutes to get used to the jostling of the vehicle, but after that, it didn’t take the mechanic long to fade in and out of sleep. It wasn’t exactly a peaceful rest, but it was something at least. The road noise helped lull him out for a little while, and it was after one point that Arthur lost track of what time it was from dozing off. 

There was a bump in the road, jostling him out of whatever restless sleep he could possibly get in the back of a moving van. Groaning internally, Arthur shifted up into a sit and ran a hand over his head, squeezing his eyes shut.  _ Jeez… _ Sniffing the sleep away, the mechanic craned his neck and peered over the back of the seats. 

Outside the sky was startlingly dark and as his eyes fell on the road, an uncertain feeling crept upon him. It wasn't the sudden change in lighting that made Arthur's nerves act up, but that he didn't recognize the road they were on. Not only that, but they definitely should've been home by now.

Yawning, the mechanic draped an arm over the back of the seat and glanced tiredly at the two in front. His voice cracked from fatigue, and he cleared his throat as he tried again, "Where are we?"

Vivi looked back with some mix of a mischievous and apologetic grin, "Hey sleepy head, we're taking a detour! There was a place I wanted to check out just beyond the opposite side of town."

"Don't worry," Lewis added with a glance in the rear view mirror and a smile, "we won't be there long. The plan is to check it out and then be back home before midnight."

Fighting a frown, Arthur leaned his chin in his arm while glancing between the two of them. Vivi wanted to go ghost hunting  _ now? _ Well, she had every right he supposed. Arthur just wished he had been better prepared. Guess ghost hunting  _ would _ be involved in this vacation after all. He spared Lewis a quick glance over in the driver's seat, then turned to stare out the windows with a quiet sigh. Maybe that was what Vivi had been looking up on her phone before they left. Sneaky girl.

The trees were oddly bare for the time of year, Arthur noticed, and the mechanic couldn’t help but frown at the sight. Where exactly was Vivi taking them? It was in that moment he realized just how used to being in the driver's spot was. He at least always knew where they were going behind the wheel instead of being left wondering.

He didn’t have to wonder for long. As the van slowed and pulled off to the side of the road, Arthur turned where he sat to get a good look out the window… and instantly felt his stomach drop in unease. They had pulled up beside a giant cave, the opening yawning hauntingly toward the world as if risen from somewhere else. The mechanic  _ swore _ there was a face gouged into the structure but he couldn’t be certain if it was that or his own nerves getting the better of him. 

They certainly weren’t helped by the skull and crossbones sign outside either. He'd come across plenty of "keep out" and "no trespassing" signs before, but that had to be the most ominous.

“Are, uh,” he stammered, furrowing his brows and looking over to see Vivi unbuckle herself, “a-are we at the right place?”

“Yep!” came Vivi’s all too cheery reply, turning around to flash him a grin. She was rearing and ready to go, practically giggling in her spot. Arthur only managed a nervous smile.  _ Oh… great… _

It took both Lewis and Vivi getting out of the van before the mechanic slowly crept out of the back himself. The pleasant warmth of the day was gone and he was left shuddering from a subtle breeze that sighed by, rubbing a hand up and down his arm to chase away the chill. Frowning tightly, he nudged the back door closed as the other two came to his side. 

"This place looks so interesting," Vivi hummed, propping her hands on her hips as she looked it up and down. "I wonder how it's escaped our radar until now."

"Hard to say," Lewis mused, resting a hand on her back and turning to look at the both of them. "Did you want to bring any equipment?"

Squinting, Vivi shook her head after a moment, "Nah. I want to scope out the inside and see if it's worth it. If we find anything good then we can come back another time with some cameras."

Oh, good, that meant Vivi  _ really _ didn't plan to stay very long. Just enough to get a feel of the place. Arthur could work with that. Before they went in, Lewis paused and opened the back doors of the van again. He vanished for a moment only to reappear with an unlit torch, grinning all the while.

"Perfect," Vivi declared as the boy lit the top, "I'm glad I had those packed back there still."

As prepared as they dared be, the trio bravely made their way inside the cave. Or well, Arthur tried to convince himself it was bravery. Vivi was often fearless, and while Lewis didn’t appear afraid, he did seem on guard and particularly watchful. And he wasn’t the only one. Beside Vivi, the white and black dog had his ears forward and eyes snapping from place to place. Maybe he sensed something… at least then Arthur wouldn’t feel so bad about being unnerved.

Upon entering, Arthur immediately didn’t like it inside. The cave was wicked looking, crawling with an eerie green mist that he swore felt  _ alive _ as it curled around rocks and stalagmites alike. Every bit of him felt on edge, his stomach knotting in nervousness and unease. Whatever this place harbored, it wasn't good and he didn't want to be there. He wanted to  _ leave. _

“G-guys,” he stammered, quickly moving to be beside Lewis, “I… I don’t mean to be the scaredy cat here, but I  _ really _ don’t like the feel of this place.” 

“Nah, I don’t blame you,” Vivi murmured thoughtfully as she looked up at the ceiling of the cave, “it’s got a... weird vibe to it.”

Arthur opened his mouth to reply, only to yelp instead at a sound from above. Already skittish, it didn’t take much for him to stumble forward and partially crash into Lewis. His hands flew upward, grabbing onto the taller boys’ shoulders to both stabilize himself and out of fear. Lewis spared him a quick, worried glance before looking back ahead, seemingly unphased by having Arthur so close. The mechanic was glad for it, too freaked out to be embarrassed or really take in the gravity of his action.

“It’s okay, Artie,” the blue girl eased, pointing upward, “it was just a bat. Not surprised this place has them.”

Just a bat. Just… a bat, right.  _ Come on, Arthur. Keep it together. _ Wheezing a breath out, Arthur slowly let his hands fall off of Lewis’s shoulders and he peered around the couple to look ahead. Along the planked walk path to map where to safely traverse, a split in the path quickly approached them with a double labeled sign pointing where each led. What caught Arthur's attention however was the skull neatly propped on the sign post, likely placed there to enhance the already spooky atmosphere… or warn others not to advance further.

"Should we split up?" Lewis asked as the trio came to a pause. 

Immediately Arthur wanted to answer  _ no _ , but Vivi spoke up first, "Maybe for just a sec, the paths look a little narrow."

Looking between the boys, she continued, "Let's pair up and not go too far. If it looks like it goes for a little while either way, head back and we'll meet each other here."

"Sounds good," Lewis agreed, then shot Vivi a small smile, "Be safe."

Grinning back, she waved with her fingers before walking toward her own path, "You too, Lewlew."

For a moment, Arthur stood frozen.  _ Really guys? You want to split up here?! _ Internally groaning and biting back a distressed whine, the mechanic huffed instead and scrambled behind Lewis as he ventured into his part of the intersect. A chill crept up his spine as he walked, one Arthur shuddered hard against to fight, and he quickly tailed closer behind his friend.

Everything about this place just felt…  _ wrong. _ He couldn't get over the feeling that he was being watched, that the mist was somehow  _ alive _ , and God he swore it felt like he was losing his mind to anxiety. Arthur hadn't been  _ that _ scared of a place in a long time.  _ You're tired, it's fine, you're overtired, we're going to check this place out and leave and pretend it never happened. It's fine, it's cool.  _

"Woah," Lewis breathed ahead of him, snapping Arthur out of his nerves briefly, "check it out… be careful, it looks like there's a drop off."

As Lewis crept further into the room, the mechanic slowed and came to a stop. He looked around at the vicious spikes jutting from the ceiling and saw that they were just as gruesome below. One false step and… Arthur shuddered. He didn't dare think of what could happen. A twitch flicked it's way through his hand from another chill and he jittered, looking up and over his shoulder nervously.  _ Dammit _ he was so paranoid, he felt like he was being toyed with!

Something… something felt wrong. Arthur's heart began to slowly pick up speed and there was a building heaviness in his chest. He felt… god he felt  _ sick _ and lightheaded, and the mechanic swore he was about to pass out. It was getting hard to breathe and to think. Just looking back toward his friend nearly made him waver in his spot.

" _ Lewis,"  _ he tried to say, hearing the words in his head but unsure if he was actually saying them aloud, " _ I… Lew I don't like this, I want, we need to… we need to go back I… I feel…" _

Arthur felt… disconnected. His vision swam, blurring in a thickening tinge of green as the purple boy became muddled from his sight. He swore the green mist of the cave had curled itself around him, swallowing Arthur whole in a haze too choking to struggle against. His muscles were suddenly too weak, too heavy to even put up a fight. Was this panic? No, he'd be freaking out more if he was having a panic attack… right? 

He felt… he felt like he was passing out. 

" _ Lewis…" _

It was a desperate fight to speak, to try and remain conscious, but even as he thought the name he couldn't see his friend anymore. All he saw was green, and all he felt was nervous and shaky under a thick, heavy blanket that restricted his movements. He couldn't think, couldn't feel, all he could do was flounder in the thought of  _ Lewis we need to go, please we need to go back! This place is bad! _

The green was shifting, changing, growing darker. Maybe… maybe he  _ was _ passing out. He didn't feel himself hit the ground, but in all honesty Arthur couldn't feel anything at all anymore.  _ Lewis I... _

He was fading, fading, fading into the black. He was… he was…

He... you … 

You…

_ You… are mine… _

Arthur jolted somewhere in his consciousness. A voice, what was that voice? It was less of a voice and more of a  _ growl _ deep inside his mind. A tremble of fear clenched his soul and he tried to fight against the fade, fueled by the sudden need to know  _ why _ he was hearing a  _ voice  _ that wasn't his own.

_ What? No! _ He mentally shouted back,  _ Wh-who are you? Are you the one doing this to me? _

_ Don't… resist… _

Panic surged hot and flighty across his mind. In some way he jerked, then again, trying to do exactly what he was told not to. Usually he'd be scared out of his wits, and truth be told he  _ was, _ but he couldn't just… just become victim to whatever this mind intruder was.

_ No!  _ Arthur yelled in fright, _ Get out of my head! _

_ If I can't have you,  _ the growl hissed back venomously,  _ no one can! _

His mind felt clenched again and somewhere he winced, all fight he'd had before sapped from him like air from a balloon. He couldn't think, he couldn't see he couldn't, he couldn't…

Fading again, darkness steadily swallowed him whole. Arthur knew if he could he would shout and thrash to try and get away, he would do  _ anything _ to break the fearful vice. But he couldn't, he was going, fading…

Until a snarl snapped through the black like a clap of thunder.

**_"Release him!"_ **

That wasn’t the growl from before  _ or _ his own voice. Arthur didn’t know  _ who _ that had been, but it was a voice he’d never heard before, one that almost… All at once, feeling began to surge back. The blackness sparked a color, a flash of green being swallowed by gruesome red. Red, red... 

Red, red, pain, pain,  _ pAIN! Agony! _

Gasping for air through the onslaught of sensation, Arthur’s vision snapped. It went from red, to foggy purple and black, white and red, then finally he could see vaguely what was around him. He couldn’t rightly focus, he couldn't--  _ oh god _ he was in so much pain, why was he in pain? And it was, it was so loud that he couldn't even properly hear. He couldn't, he... he was…  _ screaming. _ Why was he screaming and why did everything  _ hurt? _

Before Arthur could even grasp the situation, a yelp interrupted the shrieking as he collided with something. It was-- he fell, he fell and his left arm was on  _ fire _ while his right grabbed desperately for his shoulder, for the source of pain, anything to stop it. He couldn't think, he couldn't process anything, all he knew was that he was in  _ so much pain _ and he didn't know how to make it stop.

Movement caught his bleary vision as he tried to focus and his eyes landed on a towering shape in front of him. Cylinders rose behind the white shape in a fluid motion, waving in-- no, not cylinders,  _ tails. _ Arthur blinked, coughing past a sore throat and watery vision to try and just see what it was as he whimpered. 

A red muzzle whipped up to look at him, and it was then he noticed something green and red…  _ bloodstained  _ between the beasts teeth. Red and black spiked up from the back of the creature's neck, and a flash of something shiny just barely caught his eye underneath its jaws.

He couldn't move. That… that looked like…

Somewhere behind him he vaguely registered sounds, and it took him a second to recognize Vivi's voice as she shouted further away, "Arthur!  _ Arthur! _ Hang on I'm coming! I'm--!"

The words faded beyond his comprehension. Wheezing out a ragged breath, the mechanic felt his mind quickly slip away back into blackness, chased by the incredible pain and the far too intelligent eyes of someone… some _ thing _ he had once known.

Darkness, blackness… For a moment, the pain stopped in a foggy mist of unconsciousness. He couldn't rightly control it, but he wanted to stay in it if it meant he never had to feel that excruciating agony again.

Unfortunately the universe wasn't on his side. Blackness slowly faded to red and then black again, and somewhere beyond himself he heard an idle roar humming to life. Years of working in a shop clicked after a minute longer and he realized it was a car engine. Another minute and his mind managed to settle on the most probable option: the van.

Groaning in grogginess and confusion, Arthur felt himself trying to move only to immediately regret it. The pain came surging back, threatening to take him under again in a wave of lightheadedness. Somewhere beside him came a high pitched yip and before the mechanic could open his eyes, another sound followed it.

"Arthur?" a feminine voice called… Vivi, it was Vivi. She was much closer this time, her voice competing with the sound of the engine, "Are you awake?"

"Wh…" Any attempt to speak was taken by a raspy groan, heaving him into a cough. Oh  _ god _ , every movement sent a stab of pain through him. Arthur wanted to sob.

"Take it easy," he heard Vivi urge worriedly, her voice tight with emotion, "Don't move, please just lay still. It'll be alright."

Huffing raggedly, Arthur let his head roll to the side and tried to open his eyes. Everything was dark and blurry still, but at least it wasn't like before. Vivi spoke again, and Arthur was able to pinpoint it was coming from somewhere above, "Just relax, okay Arthur? I know it's hard, but just try for me."

"What," he wheezed, flinching against the pain trying to reawaken all across his left side, "what… hap...?"

"Something... bad happened in the cave," Vivi explained slowly, "we can talk about it later, okay? Just relax."

Heaving out a breath, Arthur winced at the feeling of just trying to barely move. He felt like he'd been hit by a truck and then some. A coughing fit took him, his throat on fire from the feeling, before he tried to rasp again, "L… Lewis?"

"What? I didn't catch that."

"Lew," Arthur coughed desperately, cringing. "Is he… where…"

"Just stay calm," Vivi insisted, drawing a deep frown from the boy. "I'll explain more later.  _ Please _ just rest for now, alright? We're on our way to the hospital."

How could he  _ rest? _ He was so lost and confused, he felt absolutely nauseous from pain and the motion of the van, and he hadn't even heard Lewis speak once. Was he  _ that _ focused on driving? He couldn't, he… hospital? Maybe… maybe that was a good idea. Figure out what… was happening… 

"Arthur?"

The tide of pain and black was coming back, and he could both feel and hear the sound of the van fading into a distant hum in the back of his mind. His eyelids fluttered and Arthur distantly heard himself rasp out a painful breath as his focus started to crumble around him. Something nudged it's way under his right arm but he was too out of it to rightly decipher what.

He was losing it again, losing focus, he was…

_ "...thur? ...ey Ar…" _

Noises turned into the breath of wind, small jolts in the road to gentle prodding. His mind slipped further with a wave of nausea and before completely losing all senses, he vaguely recalled the back silhouette of Lewis and the intense eyes of the beast in the cave.

_ Rest, Arthur. _

And as before with a sigh, everything  f

a

d

e

d

_ to black... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The entire time I'd been writing this story, I was SO scared but excited for this chapter. This chapter and all the ones after it were incredibly important -- not that the previous haven't been! -- to the actual canon and my own personal world building, and I was scared of nailing it, or making the transition too fast, or making it just swift and jarring enough to be reality. Regardless, I hope I pulled it off!  
> This chapter and the ones following it are the story elements I originally wanted to write and expand on when planning this fic. All chapters prior were fleshed in and connected for that sweeter solidification for the story, and I'm so glad I took that time with the premise of exploring Arthur's memories!  
> So without me rambling for too long, I hope you're ready! Cause this is the end of the first arc of the story, and we're about to dive into the second, more tense final arc!


	12. Erase My Mind Again, Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _So right now  
>  I can feel it, feel it overtaking me  
> So right now  
> Ooh, I can feel it overtaking me_  
> E r a s e M e

Arthur wasn't sure how much time passed before he really woke up next, but he knew he heard every manner of noise enter his consciousness between them. At some point he heard the slam of the van door like a faraway thud, then Vivi's distant voice hurriedly addressing someone. There were other voices, ones he didn't recognize or couldn't place, and beeps of many frequencies before his subconscious melted into intense quiet.

There were fuzzy flashes in the dark that would periodically appear, bright blue then purple, then green and red. They flashed in and out like a bad signal only for Arthur to be lost again to the heavy darkness surrounding him. He didn’t understand what was happening, but also didn’t have the sense to really question it either. As far as he knew, he was a drifter in the expanse of the unknown, and that was his new normal.

Slowly through the darkness, sensation began to filter back into reality. He knew he was laying down and covered by something cool. Cold… that was something that cut through. It touched the edge of his skin, bringing him slowly back as sounds joined the array. Someone was talking, he recognized it… God but he felt so floaty, so out of it, he just wanted to go back to sleep. Sleeping would be better than blinking in and out of awareness.

But sleep wouldn’t come back, at least for a moment. Instead the voice got louder, clearer, and like a moment of eureka, Arthur knew -- it was uncle Lance. Was he back home then? Did he fall asleep on the couch again? No, this… this felt different. He knew what the couch felt like and this wasn’t it. Not only that, Lance never kept the house chillingly cold. Arthur also had something strapped to his arm, he realized, and another thing to his  _ face _ of all things. What was…

“...I’m sure, yes…”

Arthur paused, finding himself aware that his uncle was nearby and talking to someone. With a quiet groan the mechanic managed to, with much difficulty, pry his eyes open. It was bright, holy  _ hell _ it was bright, and Arthur closed his eyes again with a wince. Alright, maybe that was a bad idea. Just laying there was fine, he didn’t need to see. 

“He’s a strong kid,” Lance was saying off to the side somewhere. “I’ve known that ever since… well, since my sister and her husband…”

Who was he talking to? Alright, as much as the light hurt, Arthur wanted to know what was going on. He still felt completely out of it but maybe he’d find a way to make sense of things once he could finally  _ see _ things. Carefully, the boy opened his eyes a little slower, at first seeing through squinted vision to avoid the blinding light. All around him the room was white with muted blues and gray, and it occurred to him after a moment from the setup that he was in the hospital. What, why…?

Sure enough, Lance was off to the side nearby. He was sitting on the patient couch, hand tucked to his ear as he frowned at the wall across from him. The squatter mechanic wasn’t paying attention his way, so Arthur took the time to groggily roll his head to the side and watch the closest machine modules. As expected, he was hooked up to a heart rate monitor and a few other things that he couldn’t make sense of, but that still didn’t explain  _ why _ he was there.

Someone was standing beside the screens, he realized, checking the measurements of an IV bag. They glanced idly at him and looked back to their work, only to startle and make eye contact with Arthur fully. Adopting a friendly smile, the nurse said, “Mr. Kingsmen, welcome back. How do you feel?”

_ Weird… like I’m drunk. _ Taking a breath of the oxygen still being fed to him, he rasped in a mumble under the mask, “Weird… 'm I drugged?”

“You're coming off anesthesia and are taking in heavy pain medication, that’s expected,” the nurse calmly assured, “it’ll take a little while for it to wear off completely. Just take it easy until then, alright? Tell me if you feel any pain.”

Anesthesia? Why did he need… 

For a moment, it didn’t matter. His eyes grew heavier, and with a small gasp Arthur realized his head had startled to loll to the side as he began to drift again.  _ Just… God I’ll just sleep for a little more, I’m so tired… I don’t think Lance will mind. I’ll talk to him when... _ Somewhere beyond him he heard the nurse speak again but he didn’t quite catch what she said, instead letting his focus drift out into the unknown again. Surely if he just slept a little long, then he could figure out what was going on. He was just so tired...

Arthur’s dreams were largely cloudy, mixed with images he couldn’t quite make out and a thick, green haze covering everything. He didn’t understand why the fog was there, where it had come from, but as he began to come to again, that haze changed to the blipping brightness of that hospital room again. He blinked groggily a few times, noting Lance had changed position on the couch and was speaking to a different nurse than before. Or so he thought, Arthur couldn’t rightly tell. As he drew in a deeper breath to try and yawn, the mechanic launched into a cough, grimacing at the rawness of his throat.  _ Ow... _

That sound was enough for Arthur to gain two sets of eyes. Scrambling up from his seat, Lance made a great effort in not running over to the side of the bed as the nurse casually approached the machines at his sides. He paused to look his nephew over, worry clear in his eyes that Arthur was slowly becoming aware of. Bodily awareness was coming back, and while he didn’t feel pain like the nurse warned, he did feel stiff and sore. 

“Hey, how you doing, lad?” his uncle asked quietly, finally looking up to his face. Something about Lance’s own told Arthur he hadn’t slept the night before.

“Weird,” Arthur reiterated scratchily, “what… happ’ned?” 

"We were hoping you'd be able to fill us in," his uncle laughed warily. "You arrived in quite… a rough state, so I'm told. Do you remember anything at all?"

Remember…? Everything was blurry, it was hard to say… Vivi, she had been there. Maybe she knew.

"Viv," he rasped out, "where's Vivi? She'd know."

As his uncle fidgeted beside him, the nurse leaned over and carefully removed the oxygen mask. She set it off to the side with the oxygen supply and only after she moved did Lance answer, "She's in the waiting area. The hospital only wanted close family in the room until you were awake and stable." With a tired sigh, his uncle fixed Arthur with a small frown, "I can grab her later, but for now we just wanted to see if you knew anything about what happened."

He didn't understand. Why was he  _ here _ and why did everything feel so off? Still, with a ragged huff, Arthur tried his best to recall, "Starting… where?"

"Anywhere," Lance patiently insisted, "preferably after you left town."

Easy enough, probably, alright. The nurse offered him a glass of water before he started and he greedily downed the contents through a straw as she held the glass. It didn't cure the ache in his throat, but it helped at least. Now he didn't feel like he was talking against sandpaper.

Furrowing his brows slightly, the younger mechanic elaborated groggily, "We… went camping. Vivi woke us up before sunrise to watch it… then…"

Something… something didn't feel right. Despite the airy feeling he had from coming down from the anesthetic and likely the pain meds, something felt  _ wrong _ . He'd asked for Vivi, but what about Lewis? Memories were filling in like a contorted jigsaw puzzle and he…

"Lewis," Arthur huffed, "is he… with Viv?"

An array of emotion crossed his uncle's face from  _ relief _ to uncertainty before finally a shadow fell over his features. Arthur’s heart slowly dropped and the younger mechanic nearly felt sick. Trying to rectify the slip in composure, his uncle pressed, "I'll explain in a bit-- keep going."

Why couldn't he get answers  _ now? _ Vivi wouldn't answer him, Lance wouldn't answer, and he impatiently snapped in irritation, "No, what-- what happened? No one will tell me. I just want to know what happened."

"Easy, easy," Lance cautioned with a frown, "I  _ swear _ I'll explain if you can--"

Arthur raised his arms in exasperation and growled, "Would you just--!" 

Then he froze. Eyes widening, the blonde boy  _ immediately  _ knew what had felt so wrong the entire time. Arthur's gaze slowly trailed to where he should have been motioning with his left arm and he swore he felt his stomach drop out of existence. What he saw was nothing but empty air and hospital sheets. The realization made his chest grow cold and suddenly he felt like he was viewing the world from an outside lens.

"Arthur," he heard his uncle softly warn. Arthur ignored him. 

He looked closer toward his body, and there just below his shoulder was a stump wrapped in compression bandages. Every nerve in his system was flooded with shock as he took in the sight. What… his arm, his  _ arm _ ,  _ what… _

"Listen to me," Lance insisted, a strain in his voice as he fought to stay gentle. Touching his nephew's right arm enough to jar Arthur slightly, he continued, "when they called me… Vivi was in near hysterics. She told me she found you passed out-- like this, then drove you here."

There was a touch to his face, and Arthur turned his haunted expression toward his uncle with his guidance as the older mechanic continued, "So please, lad. Just-- just tell me what you remember. Focus on me and what, what you know, alright?"

Arthur hadn't noticed before, but his uncle was shaking. He could feel it through the touch to his face. Lance was usually so tough and composed, so well put together, but he looked absolutely shaken. Just like Arthur himself. 

The older mechanic lowered his hand, scanning his nephew's face as Arthur simply stared back. He glanced over at the nurse in uncertainty, moving his hand to then scrub into his hair with a huff.

"What is that critter of yours’ name?" Lance suddenly asked, eyes snapping back to his nephew.

Blinking, Arthur stated blankly, "Galahad."

"And your ragtag ghost crew name?"

"The… Mystery Skulls."

Lance shifted to scratch his beard thoughtfully, "What about that place Vivi works? I know it's a tongue twister."

"Tome... Tomb," Arthur replied.

"Good, beats me if you actually got that one right but it sounds accurate," the older mechanic lightly smirked. Sobering a second later, he pressed gently, "Are you with me now?"

It took a moment, but Arthur hesitantly nodded. He was… there as much as he could be. It felt like it’d take an eternity to get through the shock but he’d… he’d live. But his  _ arm _ , what would he do without his arm? He supposed that if anything at all, at least he wasn’t left handed. Life was about to get hard, he was thankful in the smallest way it wouldn’t get harder by that aspect.

"I know it's a lot to take in," Lance sympathized softly, "and… if you want, we can continue this later so you can have a moment."

"No," Arthur declined, slowly frowning. If he stopped, then they would likely hold back information until he spilled his side. Besides, the last thing he needed to do right then was have an emotional crisis over his arm.  _ Stay calm, stay… calm _ . He… he  _ needed _ to know what was going on, even if he felt nauseous. Arthur was tired of waiting for the truth. Friend safety first, freak out about arm after. Okay. He could do that. He just hoped his nerves would comply.

"We… went camping," Arthur repeated, trying to keep his breathing steady as he looked down at his lap, anywhere but directly to his left, "watched the sunrise the next day… And we went swimming before-- before we left. Lew… Lewis offered to drive and I took a nap."

Things were still fuzzy but they were slowly coming back; the uncertainty of an unfamiliar road, the fear of a frightening looking cave, how uncomfortable the entire place made him feel…

"Go on," Lance quietly pressed.

Sucking in a shaky breath, Arthur continued, "We… we ended up at a cave, a side trip before going home. It felt…  _ wrong _ the moment we got there. We split up in twos and then… then."

A green haze coated the remainder of his memories like a blanket of fog. He remembered going through the passageway with Lewis and feeling lightheaded, and then... vague glimpses of inside the dark van afterward. 

"Then I passed out," Arthur concluded, "everything was… foggy, n’then I woke up here."

Lance was frowning in worry as his eyes roamed over the younger mechanic's face, "That's all? Who did you pair up with?"

Nodding in confusion, Arthur said, "With Lewis. We… went through a cave threshold then… nothing. I don't remember."

Confusion of its own made it's way on Lance's face and he sighed heavily. He looked at the nurse and back - only then did Arthur realize she had been taking notes - and the older mechanic huffed more to himself than to his nephew, "That's unfortunate."

"Why?" Arthur wavered, trying to sit up a little more-- only to nearly fall over as he tried to put pressure on his left hand. Lance extended a hand to help but Arthur managed to stabilize himself shakily, huffing, "I figure I… passed out from panic. I'm sure-- I'm sure Vivi would be a better testimony, or Lewis, especially Lewis. He was  _ right there _ ."

Lance lifted a hand to pull over his face, letting it rest over his mouth as his eyes darted over words he couldn't see. His entire face screamed confusion with…  _ regret _ before he finally croaked, "Lad, I don't know how to tell you this."

Already feeling nervous from  _ that _ reaction alone, he listened with building dread as his uncle went on, "Lewis… didn't come to the hospital with you. And Vivi, she doesn't… she doesn't remember him." Lance sighed and emphasized, "At  _ all _ ."

There wasn't enough calm in his mind to even try to immediately unpack that statement. Arthur sat there reeling, staring at his uncle with wide eyes. What did he mean Vivi didn't  _ remember _ her own  _ boyfriend? _ And what… Lewis hadn't… why?

"I," Arthur stammered, "I-I don't… understand. Where is Lewis? And why can't Vivi--"

"We don't know," Lance confessed solemnly, his tone one he used to defuse agitated customers; he was trying to stay calm, "She was taken back by a doctor shortly after they checked you in. She seems fine besides being shaken, but the doctor thinks she might have…"

At Lance's uncertain glance, the nurse spoke up, "There's a possibility Ms. Yukino experienced memory based trauma. With the way we cope with things, sometimes people repress memories to be able to function after a traumatic event."

"And you think… Vivi forgot an entire  _ person?" _ Arthur questioned in disbelief. What event could possibly make her forget her boyfriend of all people? Was witnessing him missing an arm the culprit somehow? What had  _ happened _ in that cave?

"While not exactly common on this scale," the nurse frowned gently, "it's the only thing we can currently conclude as a factor for her complete memory loss of him. She has no injuries so physical trauma is ruled out. Since the memory is gone -- or repressed -- and you went unconscious, we have no clear evidence as to what really happened to cause all this."

Arthur looked between the two of them quietly then decided aloud, "Unless we find Lewis."

"We'll focus on that later," Lance intoned, "you just went through surgery to make sure your arm heals up. The doctor says you'll be here for awhile and should be healed in roughly two weeks." 

"Two weeks?" The younger mechanic echoed in exasperation, "We don't have two weeks to find out what happened to Lew! What if he's lost in the cave--"

"I won't hear any of it," Lance sharply argued, fixing his nephew with a look, "Arthur you  _ need _ to recover fully from this before you can--"

"But if Lewis is still there, we  _ need _ to find--"

"You already lost your arm going in there," Lance broke his sentence in barely concealed anger. Except it wasn't just anger he realized, it was  _ fear _ , "I  _ can't _ lose the rest of you on some crazy rescue mission to that place, do you understand?"

Briefly taken aback, Arthur stared up at his uncle in silence. That… hadn't been the response he expected. Lance looked angry, but the shake of his arms and the light in his eye betrayed the real emotion behind his snap.

With a heavy sigh, Lance's shoulders sunk and so too did his tone, "Listen, Mr. and Mrs. Pepper have been trying to contact Lewis all night. If anyone finds out anything, it'll be his family. They promised to let us know as soon as they got word on his status."

Momentarily silenced, Arthur shakily huffed and squinted off to the side. A hand settled on his shoulder as his uncle went on a little calmer, "There's going to be a search party to explore the cave and see if they can find anything. I almost bet you anything you got cornered by a mountain lion in there from the sound of your injuries, and it'd be dangerous to even think of going back."

_ But if Lewis didn't come with us… he's in more danger than anyone. And what am I going to do about Vivi? _ Those thoughts and more plagued the younger mechanic as he frowned deeply. How could he just lay in a hospital bed all day when his friend was  _ missing? _ Despite his fear, Arthur wanted nothing more than to get out there and find Lewis. He  _ had _ to know he was safe. He had… he was...

Arthur was going to be sick. With hastened movements from his nurse, the injured boy was given a biohazard bag to dispel his anxious and anesthetic riddled stomach. He felt awful, swarmed by nervous energy and shakes and damnit, why couldn't Lewis have just come along? Why had he been left at the cave? Why did Vivi have to forget him, and why did Arthur have to  _ lose his arm? _

It took a little while of sitting hovered over the rancid smelling bag, but finally Arthur was able to give it up. He was still shaky when he leaned back, and every few moments felt like the shakes twinged what was left of his arm. The nurse gave him more water and after settling back into bed, Lance looked up at his nephew with a quiet, searching look.

"I'm… sorry if I stressed you out," he apologized, scrubbing at the back of his neck, "I just needed you to understand that… I can't lose you, you know? I'll be the first to admit I'm bad at communicating sometimes and I probably should have opened with the fact we  _ are _ looking for the Pepper boy, but…"

"It's okay," Arthur quietly assured, "I understand. It's just… been a rough few hours."

"Tell me about it," Lance huffed, dropping his hand, "Just... uh. Did, did you need anything?"

At first Arthur shook his head, not knowing what else he could possibly need. He'd be confined to the bed for a while and likely have a nurse waiting on him hand and foot while recovering. Arthur just wished he could be home, or with his friends pretending this never happened…

"Actually," he said, looking up, "is my phone around?"

Straightening up, Lance moved away toward the side of the couch. He dipped around it where Arthur couldn't see, then the younger mechanic noticed the orange of the pants he'd been wearing before being changed into hospital clothes. Finding what he was looking for, Lance came back over and passed the device to him.

Arthur adjusted his grip and flicked the phone open with his thumb, staring at the time to try and gauge when all the madness had happened. It was… almost dawn. And a day later? He'd been out for at least an entire day?  _ That anesthesia hits hard... _

Frowning gently, the boy flipped to his messages and hesitated on Lewis's message screen. With a bite to his lip, he began to type out the best he could one handed, misspelling words fairly hard at first.  _ This is going to take some getting used to… _

_ [Mecha Nerd: Hey. Are you ok? I'm in the hospital rn, idk what happened at the cave… but I think I passed out then something bad happened. Where are you? You still there?] _

Hitting enter, Arthur waited a moment longer before typing another as his arm began to shake with fatigue.

_ [Mecha Nerd: Let us know the minute you can if you're ok, alright? Something… happened with Vivi too. Idk what. She's not hurt, but you need to see her. I'd really like to see that you're ok too man. Just get back to me.] _

With a flick of his thumb, the second message was sent out. Arthur lingered on the screen, staring at the 'Delivered' tag and hoping beyond hope that it would change to 'Read.' After waiting for a few minutes, the boy sighed and swiped over to Vivi's name next. A nervous feeling built up in his stomach again, but thankfully nothing so strong that made him feel like he had to use the bag again. At least not yet.

_ How am I going to possibly talk to her about Lew? _ He twirled his thumb absently over the keyboard, fighting himself on actually typing out a message and engaging conversation. He loved her, but he was almost more willing to try and sleep more than to face any sort of discussion. Still, Arthur knew he'd benefit from seeing for himself that his oldest friend was alright.

_ [Mecha Nerd: Hey, I'm awake. You ok?] _

Once more 'Delivered' taunted him and Arthur gave another sigh as he leaned back and rested his phone on his thigh as he surrendered to the bearing weight that little device had made him feel.  _ God I’m so weak... _ Lance glanced over at that from where he'd sat on the arm of the couch closest and his eye vaguely traveled to the screen. A look crossed his face and he sat up.

"Oh, sorry lad, should have told you," Lance spoke up, "If you're trying to get ahold of Vivi, you'll need someone to grab her. She lost her phone in the cave apparently and actually called the shop through a hospital line to get a hold of me."

Arthur bit back a scowl.  _ Lewis, my arm, Vivi's phone and memories. What else are we going to lose to that cave?  _

Instead, the boy nodded, "Could someone… go grab her? I want to make sure she's alright."

Obliging the request, Lance left the room a minute later. Arthur leaned his head back, staring up at the subtle pattern of the ceiling. How in the world was he going to do this? Maybe he'd strike  _ some _ form of luck and be able to avoid all conversation of it entirely. Only problem was, Arthur didn't possess such luck. In fact he was inherently good at setting  _ up _ the unfavorable luck for himself.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened. Lance came back in first, followed by a rush of blue that darted over to his right side. Vivi had changed since that night and she looked sleepless -- an uncommon look for the book girl to possess. She quickly grabbed his hand in both of her own, squeezing it tightly.

"Artie, oh thank goodness," she breathed out shakily, "I was so worried. Last time I saw you they were wheeling you back and…"

"Hey Viv," he rasped with a tired grin, squeezing her hand back, "I'm okay. A little... less handy, but I'll live."

Vivi faltered to a sad smile and broke into a soft laugh, "Don't go scaring me like that again, you hear? A heart attack at this age isn't common and definitely not healthy!"

"I'll try," he chuckled. Well, at least she was acting normal. That was a bonus. 

She was about to speak again when a blur of white jumped onto the bed. Arthur startled and stared, connecting eyes with the little dog as he cautiously crouched on the end of the bed. Mystery's eyes were searching, uncertain, but Arthur was frozen. Those eyes…

They flickered. Images sparked in his head, those eyes fiercer and even more intelligent if possible. His coat colors, flashing onto a bigger beast and the sway of many tails. The blood on its snout, the arm in its teeth, red, red, pain,  _ pain… _

Arthur was vaguely aware of what happened next. He started shouting, trying to scramble back into his pillows to get away from the dog. Vivi looked completely taken aback and Lance launched into action by taking the dog off the bed and dropping him by the couch. From there Mystery scrambled away, hiding behind the couch and peering out with what Arthur could only see as  _ guilt _ . 

The nurse tried to insist that Mystery had to go, but Vivi managed to convince her to let him stay so long as he didn't get back on the bed. Arthur had never been afraid of the dog before, it was likely just stress, right? Just let him calm down and get off the anesthetics completely and he'd be fine, right?

As he wound back down, Arthur was left heaving in the sheets for his breath. What… what  _ was _ that? Why was he so afraid of a dog that had never meant him harm before? Mystery had been nothing but a kind pet, one who had looked out for them since he'd known Vivi. He had never attacked one of them. So why were the ghosts of memories telling him something else?

And god damnit, for the umpteenth time, what had  _ happened _ in that cave? 


	13. Cause I Know That You're Out There

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I said, even if I told ya  
>  They've been looking for you and only you  
> Darkness is my signal  
> So what are you to me, what are we to you?_  
> O n e O f U s

The remainder of the day passed in a blur. With Arthur still coming off the anesthetic and in critical healing stage, he was limited to staying in bed and nothing much else. Between the stress that the cave incident had wrought on both his mind and body, the young mechanic drifted in and out of sleep the first twenty four hours after really coming to. It was likely for the best. His idle mind proved time and again that when he was stressed, he wasn't his own friend.

News trickled into his closed room at a slow pace. Lance came back the next day, a grim look about him that Arthur wasn't fond of. He soon knew why. The search party that his uncle had mentioned had returned. 

"It was almost like you three hadn't even been there," Lance said, furrowed brows shadowing his face, "There was no sign of Lewis, Vivi's phone, or even your arm."

Arthur stared in bewildered confusion. How could that be? The night might have been hazy, but the mechanic doubted he'd ever completely forget that cave. Not with how unsettling it felt.

"That's… insane," Arthur said as he processed the words, "We were, we were  _ there _ ."

"I believe you lad," Lance went on, holding his gaze, "they might not have found what they went in for, but they  _ did _ find evidence. They... found a dried pool of blood in one of the chambers."

A near jolt of shock struck Arthur in the spine.  _ Oh. _

"My blood," the younger mechanic breathed aloud.

Lance nodded slowly, "It trickled to the front of the cave in small patches and stopped, likely where Vivi put you in the van. There were smeared pawprints by the source too, which really makes me think it was a mountain cat. No one could identify them for sure."

Shifting uneasily, Arthur lifted his arm to cup his injured shoulder. There was a part of his mind that remembered teeth, but he couldn't rightly place it. One could say his reaction to Mystery was a clue, but he just.... He had no idea how such a small dog could do that, or  _ why _ . Mystery had never been aggressive toward them. Ever. It was completely out of character. And yet… he didn't remember any sort of wild cat either.

When Arthur voiced his uncertainties, his uncle tried to roll the idea around and help him make sense of it. 

"You blacked out," Lance hummed thoughtfully as he rubbed his beard, "so maybe after you were attacked, you regained consciousness for a minute and saw Mystery trying to protect you? But your mind could have skewed it from the pain and panic so you saw it wrong. Panic and adrenaline are a hell of a drug."

It… made sense. Arthur would buy it. Still, every time he saw Mystery or thought too long about the dog, his anxiety started to rise and left him wanting to get away from him. He hoped he wouldn't have that reaction for forever.

After two days in the hospital, Arthur got a text from a new number. Vivi had gotten a new phone and was happy to let him know they could talk distantly again. It was a small relief, and he also couldn't deny it was a rather interesting convenience. Vivi had lost her phone, a practical time capsule for her, Lewis, and Arthur's ventures? What an oddly perfect way to get rid of screaming evidence. It made his job easier at least. Or well, extended the process of him telling her anything about Lewis.

Otherwise unaffected aside from her memories, Vivi had been released from any further hospital investigation. They couldn't rightfully keep her, and to avoid upsetting her by triggering walled off memories, they let her go. She returned to work like nothing happened, though sometimes complained about headaches she couldn't exactly place. All brain scans showed normal, so as far as the hospital was concerned, there was nothing they could do and nothing inherently wrong.

Both her and Lance took turns keeping Arthur company so he was never alone. That first night, Lance had stayed and then Vivi came in to take his place. After that, she sporadically stopped by to check on him. Mystery accompanied her during the visits, but he never tried to jump on the bed again. In fact, he usually hung back in a far off corner of the room to stay away. Arthur felt bad, but he also couldn't control his seemingly irrational fear of the dog.

The dog, the cave, Lewis… he'd never understand what happened. 

Oh, Lewis… Every so often, Arthur would open his phone to Lewis's texts and stare at the cursed "Delivered" tag beside his messages. He dared hope every time he checked that somehow, the tag would change to "Read" and all his worries would melt away. But they never did, and it made his heart ache all the more. There  _ had _ to be a logical explanation.

Maybe Lewis's phone was dead, it was an easy enough assumption. Arthur… refused,  _ refused _ to think that something else had happened to his friend. They found no evidence of him there, but that also meant they found no evidence of a terrible fate. 

Lewis  _ had _ to be out there somewhere.

So for the sake of his own sanity, Arthur would still text him to try and get a response. Even if Lewis didn't reply, it helped ease the mechanic's nerves to know he was at least trying as much as he could while being confined to a hospital room. 

_ [Mecha Nerd: Hey Lew, I really hope you're alright. They sent out a search party to check the cave and your parents have been trying to reach you. I dunno what happened, but whenever you're ready or you can, just contact one of us ok?] _

_ [Mecha Nerd: Oh, Vivi lost her phone in the cave too so don't try contacting that number. Tbh, before you reach out to her anyway, I really need to talk to you. She's… having memory problems. I swear she's ok, but it'd be better to talk about it in person, yknow? Stay safe Lew.] _

_ [Mecha Nerd: Can't sleep tonight… the hospital has me restless and my injuries ache. I hope you're doing ok. Miss you, man.] _

The more time that passed, the more worried Arthur got. The more time passed, the more Arthur fretted about slipping and saying something to Vivi that he couldn't easily explain. The more time passed, the more Arthur desperately wanted  _ out _ of the hospital and to get out there and help with the search for Lewis.

He knew he had to do something about it, and unfortunately, so did his uncle. 

"I don't want to get all mixed up in your personal life," Lance frowned on the third day, "but aside from you, that boy's parents are the one bridge Vivi has to Lewis. If anyone has to break the news to her, it has to be one of you."

With a pained sigh, Arthur rolled his head toward the window and lifted his hand to rub over his face, "Wouldn't it just… be easier not to say anything?"

"Easier perhaps," Lance skeptisized, "but crueler."

"What's really more cruel," Arthur countered, lowering his hand to frown at his uncle, "to tell her she has a boyfriend she doesn't even  _ remember _ and tell her he's missing, or to not know at all?" Lifting his head, he continued, "Why throw her in a pit of emotion she wouldn't even be sure how to process, a pit she might have  _ purposefully  _ covered up herself to cope with whatever happened?"

Looking unhappy, Lance let out a huff, "She'll find out eventually, lad. You can either wean her into the truth yourself, or possibly face a much harsher backlash when she finds out herself later."

Arthur hated it, loathed it, but he knew his uncle was right. There would come a point, no matter how hard Arthur tried to avoid the topic, when Vivi would catch on to  _ something _ or see one little thing and the questions would start. Hell, the only reason they didn't start the first night was likely because of his freakout to Mystery.  _ It has to be one of us that tells her. _

He didn't know what to do. If Arthur waited, the more time that passed, the more bitter Vivi could get from the withheld information from her best friend. It was easier to brush it aside and hide in the hospital sheets for the moment, desperately trying to conjure a lie while making his own plans to find Lewis once he was released. 

A thought struck him, one slightly selfish and jolting all the same. If he waited… would Vivi think him conniving? Withholding the information simply so he could weasel into Lewis's romantic favor once they found him instead of her?  _ No, she… she wouldn't think that. And I'm not trying to do that, Lewis isn't even… no. I love him, but I just want to make sure he's safe. _

And he did. It was the truth. As much as he envied their relationship, that envy hadn't once been on the table since he awoke in the hospital. All Arthur wanted was to find Lewis and make sure he was alright. He  _ had _ to find him. There was no other option. Arthur would refuse any other probability until he saw his friend himself. 

Even so, sleeping at night was hard. After the first two nights, his company stopped making attempts to stay up too late. Lance and Vivi were both quick and hard sleepers, so he was often left alone in the evening hours after they passed out on the couch. It was alone that Arthur succumbed to thought and emotion. The gnawing thought that everyone seemed to have was the absolute worst. He  _ couldn't  _ believe that Lewis was dead, he couldn't. The mere thought made his chest ache and a lump form in his throat. 

No, no, Lewis was out there somewhere. He had to be. His eyes stung bitterly at the thought of the boy he loved so dearly just suddenly… not existing anymore. The sting subsided to tears, and it was in those moments he  _ was _ thankful his company was asleep. He knew Lance would understand but he still never liked crying in front of him. Then Vivi, oh, that was a world of questions he wouldn't dare answer when emotional.

As best as he could, Arthur kept his emotional moments to himself. It was difficult sometimes, but he found moments alone to let it out to try and even out his state of mind. He doubted he'd truly sleep peacefully again until he learned about his friend's fate.

On the fourth day visit, Vivi brought him a small sack of books, half regular and half manga, and set it at his right side as she talked to him about the day so far. Mystery had come too, but he stayed just at the corner by the door and never made eye contact. Ever since Arthur's episode, he never approached the bed. The mechanic felt bad but… at the time, he didn't know how to deal with the little dog.

"I thought you might appreciate some entertainment," Vivi had said as she set the bag down, "so I brought things I knew you liked and ones I thought you might find interesting."

With a genuine smile, Arthur sighed, "Thanks, Viv. I didn't know how much longer I'd last on hospital cable."

Grinning herself, Vivi leaned over and kissed the top of his forehead in that sisterly way she always did when he was sick. She scrubbed his hair aggressively, evoking a chuckle from him. It was a comfort to see Vivi acting like herself, but still the mechanic struggled when he knew things weren't truly right. 

Uncertain, Arthur spared her a glance as he tried to keep his tone casual, "Hey so… we haven't really talked about what happened."

Blinking quickly, Vivi nodded and sat at the edge of the bed, "Oh, no. I guess not. Everything's been kind of crazy."

Yeah… Dammit he didn't want to accidentally slip… Still, he had to know. "A little. What all do you remember? Everything is blurry for me once we entered the cave."

Taking a deep breath, the blue girl folded her hands in her lap as she tried to recall. She seemed relatively relaxed despite the topic, all but the slight furrow of her brow as she relayed her thoughts, "Well, you, me, and Mystery went inside to investigate after our camping trip. You went down one tunnel and I thought Mystery was behind me, but then…"

Vivi's face paled and she turned her eyes toward him, looking haunted, "Then I… I heard the most pained, scared scream from you I'd ever heard after the mist thickened. I ran over to see what happened when…"

Huffing, the girl shifted and wrung her hands together. It was rare to actually see Vivi bothered, and Arthur didn't like it. Still, she continued, "When I found you, your arm was gone and you were passed out on the cave floor. Mystery looked like a nervous wreck beside you and I did my best to get you into the van and slow the bleeding."

It only took Vivi a moment to compose herself of the haunted look, "But everything worked out okay. They took you in really quickly and stopped any more damage, then took me back to make sure I was alright too. After that I was released and went back to…" With a gasp and a quick glance at her phone, Vivi announced, "Oh cripes I've actually gotta head to work, but I'll try and swing by tonight afterward ok?"

When she left, Arthur sunk further into the covers with another sigh. Well, she had an altered version of what happened in her mind. She remembered camping, but likely no context. And then she saw nothing but Mystery beside him… he didn't know how to feel about that. Where had Lewis  _ gone _ in that timeframe? And how long could he avoid the topic? Every time he spoke to her in person or via text he worried about slipping and not only that, he had to actually fight the nervous energy back to just  _ tell _ her. But he just… couldn't. Not yet. 

Vivi wasn't the only person he was texting though. Still being employed at the Pepper Paradiso and being the only friend who remembered Lewis, the mechanic had spoken with the Peppers too. They allowed him time off to recover and thanked him for his testimony on what happened, cloudy as it was, and apologized for not visiting. Lewis's sisters were a lot to console and look after without their big brother around. Even so, Arthur promised that as soon as he was out and could function again, he would be out there looking for Lewis. He wouldn't give up.

He didn't exactly believe Lewis's parents had given up hope, but they were trying to stay reasonable. Either way, they thanked him immensely for the offer and wished him a genuine swift recovery. 

In the meantime, Arthur tried to stay busy to keep distracted. When he wasn't sleeping or having his bandages tended to by a nurse, he was investigating all reports around town on his missing friend or reading the books Vivi had brought him. Missing person notices were posted about Lewis, and the news that the cave was to be sealed off until further notice due to potential malicious activity made Arthur frown a little. He doubted Lewis was still there, and some part of him hoped that he had tried to run back to town and would show up any day now.

His phone was still ignored, anyhow. "Delivered" was his worst enemy. 

After finishing one book while tracking reports, he set it aside and looked at a manga Vivi had brought in. Arthur had read the series once before when he visited the Tome Tomb religiously, a great series really, but he figured it wouldn't hurt reading again. It'd at least keep him busy for the last week he was there.

It took him a few chapters in before a thought struck him. The main protagonist had a metal arm after losing his tragically. Glancing over at his injured shoulder, Arthur stared for a moment as the gears turned.  _ I don't know if you did it intentionally Viv, but you sly girl... _

Could he… could  _ he _ do that? Could he  _ make _ his own arm instead of trying to get one made from elsewhere? The props he had in the shop even, they'd been casted and made using measurements from his own limbs. He practically already had an empty left arm sculpted out. All he would need to do was figure out a nerve system, make sure the structure integrity and weight would work for him, and then adjust it to fit his stump...

He could do it if he tried. His mother's old medical and robotic books could easily come into play, and all he'd need advice for was figuring out how to wire the arm nerves to receive signals from the brain neurons. It'd be tricky, but with the right tools and research, he could do it. Besides, it'd be a good way to really get used to using one arm in the meantime. It'd be perfect.

Setting the book aside, Arthur swiped for his phone and immediately started texting Lance his idea. His uncle was a little iffy at first -- why build an arm when he could be provided one? -- but Lance seemed to be interested as his nephew went on. Promising to keep an eye on the metal stock, Lance assured him he'd do everything he could to help. That suited Arthur perfectly.

Finally, Arthur could do something. He could be useful. He could make an arm for himself and as soon as he was attuned to it, he was going to find Lewis.

The plan was set.

Now he just had to find a way to do it without alerting Vivi or pricking suspicion.  _ That _ was the hard part. Even worse, he could really use Mystery's nose to help sniff their friend out and it'd be suspicious if Arthur asked to snag her dog for awhile. She would have to come with him. And he would… he would somehow have to get over his fear of Mystery.

_ One step at a time _ , Arthur reminded himself. Right. First things first. Arthur had an arm to make.


	14. I'm Gonna Make It Right

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _You've got me hangin' by a thread, yeah  
>  Must've been somethin' that I said, yeah  
> I just want you  
> Wish I could turn back time  
> Wish I could rewind life_  
> W h e n I m W i t h Y o u

Arthur's release from the hospital couldn't come soon enough. He read all the books he'd been given to stay preoccupied, then asked for paper and pencils in order to start writing out ideas for his arm project and doing loose sketches. He told his recovery nurse parts of his idea and was given a few resources on a few prosthetic limb sites to visit as well for ideas. He hadn't expected the support, but appreciated it nonetheless. 

In the meantime however, at release, he was fitted and given a rudimentary transhumeral prosthetic to work with. It would help him get used to having weight again on that side and also aid in getting his stump used to having something on it. Not only that, it would work as useful training so that he didn't have to start completely fresh once his arm was functioning. It at least created the illusion that, at first glance, nothing had happened to him.

Between getting settled back at home, attending an arm training therapy course, and working out his own plans, Arthur hit the ground running as soon as he was out of the hospital. His days were full and sometimes went by too quickly for his tastes, but for the first time in awhile, he had a mission. And he wanted things done right.

Regardless though, he was making progress. Each day Arthur learned a little bit more control with the prosthetic, built a little more on his personal arm, and kept up to date on the reports around town. It wasn't always easy and sometimes Arthur felt like he'd crash, but he held on for the simple fact that he felt he had to. He made a promise to the Peppers, to Lewis, and himself. Arthur was going to find him, somehow. Or at least  _ try.  _

Lance would often come down and lend assistance on the arm as well, doing whatever he needed that Arthur couldn't manage quite yet with his prosthetic. Thankfully, as time went on, his limits became less and less. Even so, Lance was often on standby to do what he could. Arthur appreciated his uncle's willingness to help and Vivi's constant support on the endeavor more than anything.

By two weeks, the base of the arm was finished. Lance helped him confirm the measurements and held it loosely to him for weight testing, and overall Arthur was pleased with the result. It was a little heavier than his prosthetic, but not so much that it would compromise him. If things got too much, he knew he could thin the metal too. It'd be a process, but one he would undertake to make sure everything was just right. With a capping unit to help hinge it more securely to the shoulder and his stump, the aesthetic and integrity part of the arm was relatively complete.

The hard part came next. Going against what any manufacturer would allow, the younger mechanic dissected his prosthetic on the daily to look at the motor and connections on the inside. After a few days he became proficient in disassembling and reassembling it with no problem, writing down important parts or connections he needed for operation.

After a few store trips, delicate wiring, and a night or two that extended well past midnight, Arthur slowly set his tools down and looked at the arm. The inside looked like a hybrid of a nervous system and a machine, while the outside was a sleek metal casing for it all. It couldn't pass for natural at first glance, but he didn't care. It was  _ his _ . And if his wiring had been done right, it would be fully articulate instead of just two digits like his prosthetic.

With a surge of excitement and nerves, the younger mechanic texted Lance to come into the garage. Only afterward did he look at the time and softly cringe. Well, it wasn't midnight  _ yet _ . Maybe he was still awake and he didn't just ruin his uncle's sleep. Thankfully it was only a few minutes more before the door opened and the squatter man came in.

"What've you got, lad," he asked, voice straining against a yawn. His nephew only felt a  _ little _ bad. At least he wasn't completely in night clothes.

Turning the arm a little, Arthur looked up with a proud grin, "If I did it right, a functioning arm."

Immediately Lance's tired face lit up with one of interest and he glanced between the boy and the arm, "She finished then?"

Lifting his real hand, Arthur pat at his shoulder and grinned wider, whispering, "Only one way to see."

Needing no more hints and likely eager to see the result himself, his uncle helped dismount the prosthetic from his stump and set it aside. Carefully, Lance picked up the mechanical arm and eased it where the other had been, causing Arthur to shiver from the chill of the metal. Okay, maybe he could put a lining in the socket or something to avoid that. 

After fastening the shoulder cap on and making sure everything was set, Lance drew his hands back just slightly, keeping them near just in case. "How's it feel?"

"Feels… pretty good," Arthur evaluated, looking down at it as he got used to the weight on his shoulder. It wasn't too heavy like he'd been worried about, and aside from the chill, it felt alright. Now the only thing was…

Biting his lip, Arthur thought about twitching his arm. And it twitched. Breathing a laugh, the boy grinned widely as a rush of satisfaction tingled at his skin. He thought about moving his fingers one by one, and each one twitched as he thought of it doing so.

"It's working," he said in disbelief, unable to stop grinning, "Holy cow…"

Lance sat beside him and watched, grinning himself as he stayed near. For a few minutes Arthur just tried small movements, twitching his fingers and slowly curling singular ones so that he didn't overload any mechanisms. Extending the testing further, he thought of closing a fist, focusing on the imagery and the feeling of it, and slowly his metal digits curled forward in unison to clutch.

Arthur was beside himself in delight. He'd done it, he'd  _ done _ it! After multiple stents of long hours and fiddling to make sure the sensors were where they needed to be and at the right sensitivity, he had made a seemingly fully functioning arm. When it was all said and done, he was actually able to fully hug his uncle and nearly cried from relief.

It was hard to sleep that night from excitement, and harder still to wait until morning to text Vivi about it. When morning came, however, he awoke with a jolt in remembering his arm and quickly reached over to snatch his phone and message her.

_ [Mecha Nerd: Guess who finished his arm last night? 💪] _

The mechanic took a quick moment to get dressed, grab breakfast, and rush back down to the garage for the arm. Vivi had texted him back excitedly by the time he got there, and he quickly sent a picture of the metal limb before going back to messing with it. All it really needed with a thin lining on the edges to curb the chill and he'd be set.

That night, Vivi came over with snacks and her streaming codes to celebrate. Mystery was there too, but as like before in the hospital, the dog hung by the threshold of the doorway and laid there. Sometimes Arthur would catch him glancing over and when their eyes met, Mystery would look away. He still felt bad for the little guy and wished he wasn't so scared, but he only hoped that could be fixed with time.

Regardless, the night passed pretty well and Arthur even tried to play Smash with his new arm to test it out. It was a challenge, but it was fun and a great dexterity exercise that Vivi fully endorsed after ogling at how well it moved. To her credit, she went easy on him and only got more competitive as he got the hang of the controls again.

As the evening went on, the mechanic couldn't help the feeling of loss that settled over him even as he enjoyed the time with Vivi. Thankfully, it didn't take long to locate why. Lewis should have been with them. He was such an integral part of their group that Arthur just couldn't get over it. In that moment, his fire and drive solidified, and it burned in his chest as he tried to sleep later that night.

His next task after that was applying his therapy to the arm and carefully pushing it further. He returned to Pepper Paradiso for a few shifts to make up some cash and help the new arm adapt, and was only reminded further how  _ wrong _ everything felt without Lewis's presence around. He would often turn to look for the waiter or stop himself from calling out to him to make a comment. And every time when he realized his friend wasn't there, a heaviness like a bag of stones settled in his chest. It was a jarring experience the first few shifts and still so as time went on. 

Mr. Pepper lended him assistance here and there to help with the most dexterously demanding tasks, which were thankfully few and far between. Every time he saw the couple, Arthur could see the quiet pain in their eyes for their missing son. They wouldn't stop working, but they  _ were _ mourning. 

One afternoon during a slow period, Arthur went back to try and help Mr. Pepper ice pastries like Lewis used to. The older man appreciated the help, and even if he was hurting, he was always very kind.

It was the topic he brought up after a stretch of silence that made Arthur blink in barely suppressed surprise, "So how is Vivi doing? She doesn't come in much anymore."

Vaguely glancing up, Arthur kept his focus on the pastries he was sorting before answering, "She's doing good. Mostly kept busy at the Tome Tomb but we see each other sometimes."

"That's good," Mr. Pepper hummed distractedly, "Has Ms. Yukino… well, shown any signs of remembering yet?"

Arthur tried not to frown. He hated this topic just because of the gravity it held over all of them, and especially Vivi's emotions and reactions to it all once she  _ did _ know. It stuck to him like the plague.

"I'm sorry, sir," the mechanic sighed gently, "not yet. I haven't… well, I haven't been able to bring it up."

The older gentlemen nodded quietly, then huffed with a sad smile, "Us either. Between work and the girls, we didn't know how to go about telling her."

"Believe me," Arthur murmured, "I understand. I'm just hoping he's found and then we can all discuss it."

That plan was flawed too. All of them were. If he waited until they found Lewis and she remembered, what sort of reaction would she have for that information being hidden from her? Or what if it went wrong, what if she  _ didn't  _ remember him? There were too many what if's and not enough solid answers. The guilt was terrible when he knew that he  _ could _ and probably  _ should _ tell her but just… couldn't muster the words to do it. She would be hurt if she was told, and she would be hurt if she found out on her own. Arthur didn't want to hurt her.

He just wanted it to be simpler.

Arthur's next goal to finding Lewis was to get back on the road. Lance was unsure about him driving so soon and it showed in the wrinkles on his forehead in the passenger seat, but he otherwise didn't outwardly react as the boy trained behind the wheel. 

"It's like teaching me to drive all over again isn't it," Arthur had laughed as they practiced in an empty parking lot. It wasn't too bad, movements were a little stiff, but that was to be expected. Thankfully his arm was pretty easy to maneuver after all the therapy.

"Yeah," Lance huffed, "except at least you know what you're doin' and not shaking like a leaf." 

Arthur smirked, "I'd say that's an upgrade."

No matter where he was or what he was doing, Arthur was constantly practicing something. His motor skills steadily got better and easier with hardly any focus, and if he wasn't practicing, he was planning. He always had missing person pages up and was constantly mapping the areas around them. Lewis  _ had _ to be out there. Arthur wouldn't give up, even if his days extended into the late night hour.

It was after he was given the clearance to drive again that his next step of the plan was set in motion.

One day after work, Arthur pulled up at the Tome Tomb and braced himself with a deep sigh behind the steering wheel. After a month since the cave incident, he knew time was running short. The best bet for Lewis was that he was in a surrounding town, unable to contact anyone. Thankfully, Texas was a big state with a lot of small towns and a lot of hauntings in most or around them. Maybe Lewis lost his phone like Vivi had and because of that, couldn't contact anyone because he lost all the numbers. Yeah, that was a solid excuse.

Putting the beater in park, Arthur shuffled his hands into his pockets and went inside. A tinny bell chimed above the door and he was immediately hit by the smell of old books and a dash of incense that they kept hung over the threshold of the employee area. Vivi was at the counter reading and looked up when he entered, her customer service face quickly replaced by one of pleasant surprise at seeing her friend.

"Hey Artie," she greeted with a grin, "what's up?"

The mechanic gave a smile in response, resting an arm on the counter once he was close and leaned against it, "Nothing much, but it could be something. What's your schedule look like?"

Blinking curiously, Vivi ducked down from his view and popped back up with a paper in hand. She looked over it with pursed lips then gave it a small shake, "Not too busy. I've got tomorrow off and a few other days in the week." Tossing her shoulders in a shrug, she sighed with a hint of drama, "Slow season."

Arthur gave a chuckle and nodded. Swallowing his nerves about it all, he managed to ask, "How would you feel about going on a multiple ghost hunting excursion?"

Immediately Vivi's eyes snapped to him. They grew wide in surprise, quickly darting over his face with a pinch of worry, "Oh I'm  _ always _ up for ghost hunts." And then the frown came, "but what about you? After the last one… I honestly thought you'd never want to go again, and I wasn't going to blame or question you one bit."

"The last one was… admittedly rough," Arthur agreed, glancing at his metal arm then looking back up, "but I think I've got the itching feet bug. After being stuck in the hospital and whatnot I just want to get out, explore some places."

Doing his best to offer a genuine grin, he pressed, "So, you up for it?"

Vivi laughed, watching him with incredulously furrowed brows, "You don't mean right now, right?"

"I mean," Arthur shrugged, "maybe tomorrow."

"That's practically right now!"

Laughter bubbled between the two and was only made quiet when a customer came in. After they left, Arthur and Vivi discussed what the mechanic had in mind. Roughly a week long road trip circling Tempo, routing to hit haunted stops and towns alike along the way. That way Vivi could scratch her paranormal itch and Arthur could ask townsfolk about Lewis. It wasn't foolproof, but it was the best he could do in the time constraint he had.

Eventually Vivi agreed, calling Duet and Chloe over to talk about the scheduling. After a bit of convincing, they agreed that the assistant was due for her vacation, and Vivi marked it off as a planned trip. Well, it was planned at least. All by Arthur, but still. The two of them talked for a little while with Arthur telling her most of his route plans. She seemed satisfied with the idea and when Arthur left around sundown, he felt some of that anxiety ease off his shoulders. 

He knew this trip could be rough. Not only would he be trapped in a vehicle with an animal he was unreasonably scared of, but he held way too much information that Vivi didn't know and could easily prod without meaning to. He would just have to tough it out.

In the end, it was all for Lewis. He'd do anything to make sure he was safe and found.

When he got home, Arthur gathered up as many of his things as he could and packed them into his backpack. He left just enough room for his laptop, saving it for last as he took it to bed with him and more solidly planned the way they'd take.

Sleep wasn't easy to come by that night. Even if they'd previously settled down, Arthur's nerves were on the fritz. He was anxious about finding Lewis with Vivi's whole memory ordeal, he was anxious about  _ not _ finding Lewis after he'd built himself up so much to believe he could. Either way, something was going to happen this trip, and he only hoped it would end with the trio reunited happily.

The next morning as he jogged down the stairs, Arthur spotted Lance drinking coffee at the kitchen table. He seemed surprised to see his nephew up and about, especially all packed and ready to leave, but Arthur tried not to entertain the look. Keyword being: tried.

"Where you off to?" He heard asked with a hint of uncertainty. 

Pausing in the kitchen threshold, Arthur adjusted the strap of his bag idly, "Vivi and I are going to go ghost hunting."

Lance's eyes flashed the size of moons before shrinking under a furrowed brow, "So soon after the incident? You're-- you're alright with that?"

It took a lot of control not to shuffle where he stood, and even more not to look his uncle in the face, "Yeah. I want to get out and it'd be a good chance to try and… maybe uh, look around"

"So it  _ is _ about the Pepper boy," Lance decided quietly, letting out a sigh, "Lad I know how you feel about him… but sometimes in life there's just some things you've got to accept--"

"Like what?" Arthur countered, trying to keep his tone level as he looked up to meet his eye, "Everyone else has given up on Lewis. Everyone but me. I won't leave him behind or dismiss it until I see him with my own eyes."

"And what if you do find him," Lance argued back, slowly standing, "what if you can't stomach what you find? Or if he doesn't want to be found?"

The "Delivered" tag haunted him in that moment. Ever present, unchanging.  _ Delivered _ . 

Undeterred however, Arthur pressed, "He's not like that, and I won't find him dead if that's what you're insinuating. I know he's out there and I'm--"

"You're what," Lance snapped, "going to turn the countryside over to find him? What will it take from you this time? Your other arm? Your leg, your _own_ _life_?"

Frozen, Arthur stared at his uncle in surprise. Lance was breathing heavily, bracing against the table with an expression fighting between anger and grief. A sigh split the tussle and the shorter man leaned away from the table, shifting a lot of effort in shuffling toward his nephew.

"Arthur," he said heavily, "I've always supported you in whatever you do. Your tinkering, your ghost things, I don't even care who you love so long as you don't get hurt." Stopping in front of him, Lance reached up and grabbed his shoulder, squeezing tightly as he looked up into his face, "But sometimes you just… you need to learn to  _ quit _ . You can’t fix  _ everything _ , lad"

"If I quit," Arthur murmured, staring into his face heavily, "then me and anyone else who quit would be responsible for his death."

The two mechanics held each other's stare for a moment, a blanket of tension rippling between them. It didn't take long for it to break though. Lance was the one to crack under his nephew's determination.

Sighing, the squatter man loosened his grip and shook his head, "Just… just promise me you'll look out for yourself alright? Don't make me wonder if my nephew will come back, not after I've already lost your mother."

His own face falling a little, Arthur nodded solemnly, dipping down to pull his uncle into a hug. Lance immediately returned it, tightly, and the younger mechanic promised, "I'll be back before you know it, and in just as many pieces as I left. I swear."

There was a haggard laugh as Lance shook his head, patting him on the back a few times, "Good. You better. I'll be expecting you home." Breaking away from each other, Lance reached back to scrub at his neck as he said, "I'll keep an eye on your critter and hold down the shop until then. Maybe see if I can mess with something for you."

"For me?" Grinning softly, Arthur straightened his bag, "what is it, my birthday?"

"Think of it as an incentive to come home," Lance offered, smacking his metal arm gently as to not hurt himself. "Now if you really need to, then go. It's rude to keep a lady waiting. And let me know when you get to where you're going to." 

Arthur adopted a warm, grateful smile and gave his uncle a nod. While having originally hoped to avoid Lance, he was glad they’d managed to get the conversation out of the way. It was probably better he hadn’t snuck out anyway. He didn’t want to think of how much worse that could have gotten by sending his uncle into a panic. Arthur turned with an inward sigh, steeling himself for what was to come. He had…  _ no _ idea what he was getting into, but he had the makings of a plan.

He was going to find Lewis. And they were going to come home afterward. Together.


	15. How Long Have You Known About It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I should have known when you told me that you loved me, baby  
>  But what did you tell me  
> I'ma hope it ain't the truth_  
> E v e r y N o t e

And so the plan was set into motion. After a quick checkup on the van's vitals, Arthur headed out and grabbed the rest of his expedition party. Vivi bounded over to the van with Mystery at her heel and it took all of Arthur's control not to flinch and withdraw away when the dog jumped up after her. Even so, Vivi had seen his reaction and gave a sad smile.

"It's ok, Artie," she assured as she scrubbed a hand through the dog's neck fur, "he's been really, _really_ good lately."

At the mention, Mystery quickly glanced up with what the mechanic could only call an apologetic look, and then toward the front window. He had to admit that, even with the unfounded fear, Mystery hadn't even dared come close or interact with him since the bed incident. For a dog, he was being pretty respectful. To add to it, Vivi sat in the middle to separate the two of them, likely hoping to keep her friend at ease. Not for the first time, Arthur appreciated her thoughtfulness.

When they were all settled and ready, the crew took off. Every bit of past habit told him to go to the Pepper residence and he _almost_ did, but managed to cover it up by wanting to glance at gas prices before they left town. It was going to be one hell of a trip, anyway.

The radio accented their drive out of Tempo with peppy tunes in hopes for what was to come. Vivi sang along happily to practically every note of the songs while Mystery dozed with his head on her lap. Beside them, Arthur carried a pleasant smile all the way. Spirits were satisfying high despite his anxiety, and the mechanic knew he just had to keep them up. It was all for Lewis. 

To save on funds, the duo decided they'd end up just camping in the back of the van rather than haggling hotels for a week. They still had their camping gear in the back and Arthur had stowed Lewis's things away out of sight under the cab seat, all except for his sleeping bag. Apparently Vivi had used that in the emergency hospital transportation and it had to be tossed. One deep clean later by Lance and the back of the van was fit to be used again.

It was difficult for Arthur to distract himself from the _weirdness_ of not having Lewis on a trip, but he managed. They'd been a trio for a year and trips without one of them always felt off. Besides, Lew was there in spirit, and he was secretly the main goal anyway. If Arthur had his way, Lewis would be coming back with them on the return trip and everything would be back to normal.

The first haunting wasn't too far from Tempo city limits. When he went inside a convenience store for food and a restroom break, the mechanic broke out his personal steps of the plan. To every employee inside, Arthur pulled up his phone and showed a picture of Lewis, explaining that his friend was missing and asking if they'd seen him. To his quiet dismay, all answers were no aside from having seen the report themselves on the news or in an article.

It was discouraging, but Arthur wouldn't falter. It was only stop number one, after all.

Once everyone was softly interrogated and given his phone number in case they saw anything, it was time to distract Vivi. The first haunting was an abandoned house on the side of the highway, holding a history of gruesome actions in it's past. The blue girl was stoked while Arthur trailed behind her nervously throughout the whole thing. While Vivi’s presence was comforting, he couldn’t deny that having Lewis missing from the picture made him even more nervous. He also noted that more than ever, Mystery looked on guard and stuck close to them. The two of them were never out of the little dog’s sight. He didn't know whether to take it as a good sign or not. Maybe he was just being extra careful because of the cave.

Besides a few surprised yelps from Arthur, nothing too eventful happened. When the investigation was over, Arthur took them to a truck stop nearby and nestled into a slot to hunker down for the night after dinner was had. Vivi fell asleep pretty quickly, as was her normal, and Arthur waited until he was sure she was out before breaking out his laptop. He marked off their first stop, adding notations in a document about both Lewis sighting reports and the ghostly ones, before delving deeper into the route plans and news articles. 

Even though nothing new had popped up, still Arthur kept on top of it.

Hours passed before the mechanic gave in and tucked the laptop away. His rest wasn't fulfilling and it took awhile to fall asleep, but it was enough to keep him aware on the road. That was all he needed. He would sleep peacefully again when he found his friend.

And so, the routine started. Day two brought them to more gas stops for Arthur to ask employees about sightings, followed by taking them to the next haunting on the list. Anytime they went somewhere with a handful of people or more, Arthur slipped away to ask others about Lewis. Even as he did, the answers never changed. He tried to stay positive and not let it get him down, and for the better part, he managed. He wasn't going to give up.

The third day was rinse and repeat. They went a little further on the highway Arthur had taken them on for day two, and the mechanic continued his shtick while giving Vivi her hauntings afterward. 

Only, the third place they visited _did_ feel haunted. As they explored the abandoned building, Arthur swore he kept seeing things out of the corner of his eye. To make it worse, the ambience of the entire place was off putting and drafts constantly came through holes in the walls. Vivi was floored, as expected, which meant Arthur was _not._

Putting his building thoughts of him going crazy to momentary rest, Vivi confirmed with an excited gasp what had been toying with him. She saw a ghost. Vivi _saw_ a ghost.

Oh, it was hard to leave the building that night. Granted, Arthur would have _loved_ to leave so much sooner than they did, but Vivi insisted they explore every nook and cranny for evidence. Mystery didn't seem to be bothered, and that was the only reason Arthur didn't outright insist they leave after the sighting. That was exactly what Vivi wanted after all, proof for their ghostly cause. So despite his unease, Arthur bit his tongue and stuck close. 

Getting back to the van couldn't come soon enough. Vivi was ecstatic and chatty once they left while the mechanic tried to stay engaged with her excitement. All he wanted was to get away from that place.

"I can't believe we both saw proof," she prattled on with feeling, "and we didn't have the cameras! Oh _man_ Artie we gotta come back with our equipment sometime."

Arthur agreed nervously, hoping by then they'd have at least one more braver soul with them. He really was such a wuss with this stuff.

When they settled in for the night, Arthur once more waited for Vivi to fall asleep before tugging over his laptop. With a quiet sigh, he went through the routine of marking off the spot and documenting what had happened. No Lewis news had changed, but he figured Vivi would appreciate the ghost stuff later after the trip. He took his time writing up everything that had happened and what they’d seen, trying his best to keep an accurate record. Afterward he studied the route, furrowing his brow a little as he tried to figure the best way to go to their next location. 

The next spot was north of the previous days, and he decided to jump on a different highway to head up that way when it came time to head out. It would extend their trip a bit and if they left in the right time frame, it would put them at the spot later at night. He knew Vivi would like that. Night investigations were her favorite. 

Idly, he flipped to the next step of his nightly routine. He scrolled past already-read articles, eyes darting for anything new that had popped up since he'd checked the previous night. It was getting progressively harder to find anything he hadn't read before.

"You've been staying up pretty late," came a voice.

Startled, Arthur clicked off the tab and into another with the map. He looked up, seeing Vivi's sleepy face highlighted by the laptop backlight trying to quietly read him past disheveled blue hair.

"Oh, hey, yeah," the mechanic quietly laughed, clearing his throat, "just trying to uh, keep on top of things is all. Don't have a chance when we're on the road."

Reaching over, the blue girl gently punched his arm -- it wasn't even a punch, really, just a bump with her fist, "Y'know you're not a really good liar, Artie. What's eating you?"

It took a lot not to fidget. Arthur slowly closed the laptop screen halfway, rubbing his thumb idly over the smooth side of it, "Nothing really. Like I said, just want to make sure we're on our path."

Arthur couldn't tell if the noise she made in response was a yawn or a groan. Probably both. Vivi rolled over, shifting up into a sit and leaned heavily against his shoulder. Arthur habitually leaned his head to hers, sighing.

"Okay," Vivi yawned, "maybe you _are_ staying on top of things. But I feel like there's somethin' else going on."

Leaning off of him, she tilted forward a little to catch his eye, "While I enjoy hunting trips, I know they're not your favorite. Especially after the last one. Something else brought you out here."

Is this what a deer felt like when caught in the headlights? Damn she was too clever. That or he was incredibly readable. He'd honestly believe either.

"I'd like to buy a vowel," he mumbled.

Snorting, Vivi chuckled and nodded once to humor him, "Fine, one. No take back."

Closing his laptop fully, Arthur blurted, "E."

Shaking her head, Vivi nudged at her friend with her elbow and a tired grin, "No _escaping_ this one. Spill it, gear head."

Damnit. Releasing a heavy sigh, Arthur leaned back on his pillow and made a face at the dark ceiling. His nerves were absolutely _wired_ from fatigue and the possible repercussions from revealing what he knew to Vivi. Would she hate him? Be upset with him for keeping this? He wanted to roll over and hide. Why did she have to wake up?

 _Slow, slow, take it slow_. Right, okay, he could do this. He just had to… take it slow. A little at a time.

Mustering up his courage, Arthur forced out past a nervous throat, "You… you know those reports back home? About the guy who went missing?"

"Yeah," Vivi nodded, shifting to be more comfortable near him, "they started the same time we got back from the cave."

 _Here we go._ Sighing shakily, Arthur went on, "There's… a reason for that." Letting a moment pass while his heart pounded in his ears, he continued, "The guy, Lewis, he… he's a friend of mine. I wanted to go looking for him, but with my arm…" Arthur's eyes closed with another sigh, bringing his hand up to rub between his eyes, "And… you knew him too. All three of us, we were, we were really good friends before… before he disappeared."

Silence gripped the air around them. Arthur could feel himself nearly trembling, he was terrified to open his eyes and see what face she could possibly be making with the information. But the words were out there, and he couldn’t take them back no matter how much he just wanted to laugh it off and hide in his pillow.

"Truth be told," Vivi's voice cut gently through the silence, "I… knew that."

The mechanic froze. Lowering his hand, he looked toward his oldest friend in surprise, breathing as he willed his heart to beat again, "You… know? Does that mean you remember?"

Vivi was frowning softly, only for her to glance up to meet his eye. When she did, she offered an apologetic smile, "No… sadly not. But Duet and Chloe filled me in."

Arthur felt like he was about to fall over. Good thing he was already laying down. "They- they did?"

Nodding, Vivi ran a hand through her hair, "When I got back to work after the cave, they asked me about us. About you, me, Lewis. Word passed around I guess. When I said I didn't know who Lewis was, they looked shocked. So Duet told me."

Duet had told her…? Oh man. Of _course_ Duet had told her. He had been so convinced that only him and Lewis’s parents would have to be the ones to tell her, he _completely forgot_ that others in their lives also knew. How could he forget that? Her parents, her coworkers, they were all people that could have _said something._ Arthur had been so caught up in his own head that he hadn’t even considered the possibility. Well, that was… one less thing to worry about? Still, guilt ate at his insides about the whole thing. Since they had been a trio, Arthur should've been the one to tell her. With that plaguing his mind, he murmured, "I'm… sorry. That I didn't tell you. I-I was, I was afraid of hurting you."

Vivi shook her head, giving a quiet sigh as she looked up to meet his eye again, "It's alright. You were dealing with a lot, what with losing your arm and all. I can't imagine what you were going through with _that_ and then finding out I didn't even remember one of our closest friends."

"Heh… yeah."

"Duet said we were pretty inseparable," Vivi went on, leaning back on her own pillow, "the three amigos and whatnot. I just... wish I remembered him."

Arthur nodded quietly to himself. Yeah, it was true, and every day he missed the comradery they had more and more. Still, something didn't feel quite right. If she knew, why wasn't she more broken up? Angry even? Her boyfriend was missing, and even if she didn't remember him, Arthur felt that should at _least_ be a little distressed. 

What exactly did they tell her?

Before he could ask, it was like she had been able to tell his thoughts and Vivi flipped onto her side to look at him, "What is he like?"

"Lew?" With a blink of surprise, Arthur tried to sigh out some of his anxiety. Vivi didn't hate him, she wasn't mad, if he just… spoke truthfully, it should be fine. She deserved to know. Huffing a small laugh, the mechanic managed a tiny smile, "where to begin? He's a great guy. He cares so much for his friends and family, he's driven and hard working, and he loved spending time with us. He isn't as big of a ghost fanatic as you, but he enjoyed going with us anyway."

As he spoke, Arthur's smile grew. He gazed up at the roof of the van, visualizing as he spoke, "Before he went missing, he worked at the Pepper Paradiso. He's the son of the owners. Lew's the reason I started working there, to make extra cash for the van."

"Wow," Vivi laughed gently beside him, "I'm missing a lot."

"Tell me about it," Arthur chuckled back, then cleared his throat with slight embarrassment, "a-anyway, we all hit it off basically immediately. If we weren't hanging out at one of our jobs, we were spending nights together at someone's house. Pretty soon it felt like the three of us, I dunno, belonged together…"

All at once the sadness started creeping back in. The loneliness of missing Lewis, of missing that friendly presence that had completed them. Even if he was envious of the relationship him and Vivi had, Arthur had _never_ wanted something like this to happen. Not in a million years. He would swallow every bit of his longing if it meant keeping the two of them in his life. 

"Sounds like you like him a lot," mused the girl quietly beside him.

"Yeah," the mechanic sighed, then caught himself, "y-yeah, for a long time."

Shifting up on her arm, Vivi reached over to grab her water bottle, "Maybe when we find him, you should tell him."

Arthur startled. Was this déjà vu? This was absolutely déjà vu. Blinking rapidly while she was distracted, Arthur tried to process the meaning behind such simple words. She wanted him to talk to _her_ boyfriend about how he felt? Vivi was a giving person but even that was surely crossing a line with her somewhere. Un… unless… 

In his silence, Vivi continued after drinking, "It's obvious you care about him a lot. It's worth a shot, Arthur."

"You," Arthur croaked, watching her carefully, "you wouldn't mind?"

"Why would I?" Setting her bottle down, the blue girl dropped back beside him and smirked sleepily, "We're all friends apparently. I'm not gonna be mad if you two start somethin' up."

No, this… this felt wrong. Duet _hadn't_ filled her in, not completely. They'd told Vivi about her friendship but apparently had the same idea as him of not mentioning they were together. _Damnit, Duet._ As much as a part of him wanted to take advantage of that, he couldn't. That was distrustful as hell! If she recovered her memories, not only would she be pissed, she'd be _double_ pissed and possibly disown him as a friend. He couldn't… he couldn't go along with that.

But he could pretend.

"I'll," he stammered, smoothing a hand over his hair, "I'll think about it. We'll see what happens when we find him."

"Sounds fair to me," Vivi yawned, rolling over to bury her face in her pillow, "just don't wait too long, and get some sleep. Can't welcome him back properly being sleep deprived."

Laughing half heartedly, Arthur spared her a glance after a moment. Vivi’s eyes were shut and she was already drifting back to sleep, but another set of eyes were on him. Looking up, he met Mystery's uncertain stare from the girl's hip. The dog _knew_. He was always too smart and always seemed to know what they were talking about, and this time was no exception. As soon as their eyes met, the dog's ears tilted back and he held the stare. Frowning, Arthur looked down and shook his head.

"I'm just going along," he murmured. "Just… going along."

Another sigh split his lips and the weary mechanic rolled over. Well, at least he didn't have to hide Lewis anymore. Vivi knew _some_ information at least. It would help in the long run. He just wondered how long he'd be able to get away without mentioning the relationship. Dammit. It'd be _much_ harder to say something after that conversation. He had every chance to tell her, "no, I can't, you two actually had a thing. For a year."

But he didn't.

The _only_ possible way he could make up for this was finding Lewis and leaving them be for a little while. Just a little while. He owed it to them. Him and Vivi had never let a boy come between them before, and Arthur prayed it wasn't about to happen now.

At some point, the mechanic managed to fall asleep. He woke up just before sunrise, realizing after a moment that there was a pressure against his back. Vivi probably rolled herself and got all cockeyed and pressed against him; she'd done it before. Looking over tiredly to see, the mechanic had to hold back a jolt of surprise when he saw it _wasn't_ Vivi, but Mystery. The little dog was tucked against the curve of his back in a ball, fast asleep.

Releasing a shaky sigh, Arthur settled back in his spot and tried not to be nervous about the dog being so close -- about them _touching_ . He wasn't attacking, growling, biting… no. He was just _being._ At least Mystery didn't hate him, for whatever reason he still couldn't hope to place.

He would just have to work and hope that Vivi wouldn't in the future too. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After post edit --  
> I totally spaced on the fact that Duet isn't confirmed for any gender, so I'm switching their pronouns to they/them!


	16. Seen This Played Out In My Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Cause the world might do me in  
>  It's all right cause I'm with friends_  
> G h o s t
> 
> In which we enter one of the longest days of Arthur's life.

"Sorry man, haven't seen anyone of that description around here. Good luck, though."

Damn. Arthur hid back a frown under a friendly, if but tired smile, sliding his phone back into his pocket. He thanked the employee for their time anyway and grabbed his drink after deciding that they were the last employee he hadn't asked. Once his back was turned, the mechanic let his shoulders sink and a quiet sigh escape his lungs. The same answers were starting to get to him. 

As he stepped outside the gas station, the cool air of the setting evening greeted him with a shiver. He looked up at the sky on his way back to the van, pinks and oranges melding into a deeper purple and blue. Sunsets here were always pretty if you could catch them, especially with a clear view of the horizon.

Opening the driver's side door, Arthur was greeted by the vehicle chime and a hopeful, "Any leads?"

"No," the mechanic sighed as he stepped up and flopped into his seat heavily, "Just the us'."

After having told Vivi about Lewis and her predicting the ghost hunting trip had more weight to it than Arthur had originally admitted, the book girl had been all for trying to find the Pepper boy. She may not have remembered him, but Arthur suspected she could see how important he was.

"Don't worry Artie," Vivi encouraged softly, trying to catch his eye, "He's bound to turn up."

Meeting her gaze, Arthur managed a small smile back. He hoped she was right. 

Turning his eyes down, he barely controlled a startle at the sight of Mystery in the middle seat. For the entire trip he'd been on the side, a safe distance away, and then suddenly he was right next to him. Vivi wasn't paying attention to the matter and Arthur forced himself to breathe.  _ Relax. Mystery's a good dog. _

As if to add more fuel, Mystery tilted his ears back almost nervously himself and wagged his tail. Well, he was trying. Arthur spared the little dog a small smile of his own then started the van and headed toward their next destination.

Night fell fast as they drove, accented by the radio pumping out happy tunes that Vivi, and occasionally Arthur, sang along to. Despite the lack of more positive news on the Lewis front, Arthur was determined to stay hopeful. With Vivi in the know, she seemed to be making an effort to help contribute to the positive front too. She was a stubborn girl and if Arthur ever faltered, he knew Vivi would be there to help lift him back up so he could continue.

She fiddled with the radio as they drove, finding stations during commercials to avoid the prattle they never paid attention to anyway. One station suited her fancy that she let play on, the both of them singing along happily. Arthur had to do  _ something _ to stay awake, and singing was a good alternative to pounding back energy drinks. At least that’s what Vivi insisted.

Something felt strange. The van lurched forward ever slightly beneath his hands and Arthur stared wide eyed at the controls and gauges. A spark of pink zipped through them all, sending the dials off the charts and then steadily ticking downward. As they did, the sound of the van changed as it sputtered and gradually, haltingly slowed.

"What's that?"

"I don't know," Arthur confessed, watching the gauges in utter confusion. Never in his days as a mechanic had he seen a terminal react like that. It was like the van had died from an electrical shortage. But what gave off pink charges?

"I thought you got the van tuned up before we left?"

Meeting her uncertain gaze, Arthur gave a confused and nervous smile, "I did! It was in good shape, I swear."

He tried the key to no avail, listening to the van whine in a low tone in the process. It was definitely dead. Frowning, Arthur unbuckled and started for the door, "I have a kit in the back. Let me see if I can--"

There was a flurry of movement beside him as Vivi slapped her hands on the dashboard and gasped, "Wait!"

Startled, both Arthur and Mystery looked over to the suddenly enraptured girl. Her stunned face turned into a grin in a matter of seconds. Pointing excitedly, Vivi motioned toward something off to the side, "Arthur, look what we stopped in front of!"

Confused, the mechanic looked through his window and stared in wide eyed surprise. Beyond the line of trees they'd been following was a break perfectly positioned where they'd stopped. Even wilder, a huge, decrepit manor sat just beyond the treeline looming in the darkness of the night.

Oh, that was… that was haunting looking--

"That looks so  _ cool!" _ Vivi exclaimed.

Of course. Arthur felt nerves twist in his stomach as she went on, "Oh it's fate! We  _ have _ to go check it out."

"But the route," Arthur quietly tried to argue, not wanting to admit it was  _ him _ not wanting to go in and definitely not his dedication to the route.

"We can hit the other place tomorrow," Vivi assured, unbuckling herself and lunging out of the van, "Let's go! We couldn't have stopped somewhere more perfect!"

Groaning defeatedly, Arthur tried to recall if he'd seen anything about this in his previous scouting. He'd done a lot of research on haunted places in order to plan the trip, but in his scouring he didn't recall an abandoned mansion masked by woods. Definitely not in this area. He wondered why, and the fact the mechanic had no information on it left him worried.

Arthur stepped outside to meet the girl, hearing Mystery jump out behind him before he closed the door. The manor…  _ definitely  _ had a haunted air to it. Several windows were boarded up and the entire place just looked dilapidated. It was no surprise that Vivi was so interested, it basically had all her requirements for spooks written all over it.

As they approached, Arthur slowly felt a heaviness settle over him like a layered blanket. Not an emotional one per say, but the very air felt weighted and… full. Vivi sensed it too, saying beside him, "Do you feel that? This place is  _ charged _ with energy."

That wasn't exactly a good thing, was it? Maybe for an investigation, but not a scaredy cat. Arthur merely nodded.

Vivi stepped ahead once they were at the doors. She gave the handle a try and upon seeing it was going to let her in, the book girl let go and knocked soundly on the door just in case. Arthur tried not to wince at the hollow  _ boom _ the raps made from inside.

"Hellooo," she called through the crack, "anyone home? Anybody living here?" Arthur vaguely wondered if he should sprint back to the van and grab Vivi's bat in case they encountered an aggressive squatter. The last thing he wanted was for them to get ambushed by something much scarier than an antagonistic haunt. 

A response was given, but not the kind either expected. The door creaked open slightly before both of them swayed inward, as if beckoning the duo to step inside. Vivi looked at her friend with wide eyes, the expression mirrored back at her, and she led them in by maintaining a step ahead. Arthur could feel himself wanting to tremble as he walked. Doors opening on their own? A heavy vibe to the place? This was insane, and probably the find of the century with Vivi's logic.

There was a darkened hallway stretched ahead of them, just barely given light by the outside. Beside him, Arthur heard his friend mutter something about a flashlight before her attention was caught by the interior. Before they could go much further though, a resounding  _ boom _ echoed around them and the light was sealed off in a snap.

The… the doors. The doors had just closed.  _ The doors had just closed oh god. _ That was it. Arthur was in a horror movie now and he just  _ knew _ he was the guy that was going to die first.

Arthur didn't rightly have enough time to start panicking aside from his heart slamming into rapid beats before a snap of pink manifested beside Vivi. It was… a  _ floating flame. _ Too stunned, none of them made a noise as they watched it drift ahead of them. It dove into a candlestick, then rapidly jumped to another, then another, flashing the entire hallway to life in light pink before it jumped to the candelabra just slightly ahead. As soon as those candles lit, the foyer sprang to life with light.

Beside him, Vivi gasped in star struck wonder while Arthur tried not to back up to the doors. Conscious doors, conscious fire, he didn't need to see anymore! The mansion was definitely haunted, awesome! They had their proof, they'd seen enough, it was time to  _ go _ .

Except apparently they  _ hadn't  _ seen enough. At least according to the mansion. Beneath the candelabra, a large spot of pink surged up through the carpet. It split off into three, manifesting into… ghosts? Those were  _ ghosts.  _ Arthur took a step closer to Vivi as his breathing shallowed, watching them zip off to flank the trio. As they did, two more appeared out of nowhere to nearly surround them. What was happening?!

"Oh," Vivi breathed through a wide grin, "look, Arthur, look!"

He  _ was _ looking, and he was also hoping he wouldn't pass out from anxiety. Vivi's smile quickly dropped when their seemingly peaceful expressions all turned into ones of a vicious snarl. 

Arthur had seen enough. Blinded by the fight or flight response, the mechanic took off without thinking and plunged deeper into the mansion. Their escape was momentarily blocked, and all he knew was that he had to get  _ away  _ from the ghosts. Thankfully he heard rapid footsteps behind him, signaling his party wasn't far. He raced down a long hallway flanked with portraits and suits of armor, blindly going where his feet took him.

Only things didn't stop there. There was a creak from up ahead and as Arthur's eyes adjusted, he watched in horror as one of the suits of armor arched it's sword bearing arm back. Going too fast to stop, he frantically yelped, " _ Duck! _ "

Arthur hit the ground with a skid as he lunged beneath the swing, diving onto his belly along the rug and wincing as it jarred vaguely up his arm. He flipped over quickly, relieved to see both Vivi and Mystery alright beside him, if just a little dazed.  _ Oh thank god. _

The mansion still wasn't done. Startling, Arthur watched with bated breath as the eyes in the portraits along the wall suddenly lit up. Their gaze bore into the intruders, daring them to move again, before their very images appeared to  _ lunge _ out toward the trio. For a moment, Arthur lost all sense of what he was doing. He registered scrambling over to Vivi, and before anything else could happen, the very floor beneath them opened in a swallowing chasm.

Arthur was too surprised to shout. All he could do was hold his breath and  _ pray _ he didn't break something when he landed-- if he landed pleasantly at all. The entire fall, everything flying by, it reminded him of some sort of ghostly Alice in Wonderland. It might as well have been. He swore he was imagining this entire thing, that his lack of sleep had finally caught up to him, if only everything didn't feel so  _ real. _ He could feel every sensation, every rush of wind, every touch from when his shoes had collided and even the flinch from his arm when he hit the carpet. It was real and he had no idea how to process it besides  _ fear _ .

Something changed in the fall. The entire time, him and the other two had been falling at the same speed. Without warning, Arthur's plummet seemed to accelerate. He glanced up in panic briefly to see if Vivi or Mystery had done the same, but they continued to fall slower and quickly out of his vision. Reeling from it all, the mechanic quickly looked back down--

And grunted hard when he hit the ground. Dust kicked up around him, leaving him dazed where he sat. He stayed frozen for a moment, confused in the fact he had stopped falling so fast with barely any pain from impact. All in all, that fall had… taken the best possible turn it could have. He didn't actually feel any pain aside from mild soreness, and that alone was a damn miracle. Glancing upward, Arthur was met with the sight of a high ceiling and neither of his other party anywhere. 

A trap door. There had been a  _ trap door. _ Who even used those anymore?

_ Agh, focus, where the hell am I?  _ Shaking his head, Arthur huffed and tried to look around where he'd landed. The area surrounding him was vacant aside from a staircase masked by shadow, but that wasn't what immediately caught his attention. Ahead of him, two steps led up to what looked like an elaborate standing coffin flanked by four blazers. The very sight sent a chill up the mechanic's spine as he stared.

_Holy shit. This is where Dracula pops out or something isn't_ _it?_

A groaning sound emitted from the coffin as the lid shifted and began to slide. Arthur held his breath in wide eyed terror. 

_ I was joking, I was joking! Come on, universe! _

The lid continued to slide off, leaving Arthur watching as it revealed a well dressed…  _ skeleton _ . A heart shaped locket beat on his chest, appearing to almost be attached to his suit jacket and a set of three ribs jutted out on each side of his torso. Arthur was glued where he had fallen, watching as the skeleton's empty sockets opened when the lid slid all the way off. This wasn't real, this couldn't be real, they'd just fallen into an inactive haunted house attraction,  _ wake up Arthur! _

Ahead of him, the skeleton looked near balefully at the beating heart upon his chest. As he did, somehow, his brows furrowed and those sockets donned a chilling glare. An angry gaze shifted onto Arthur and the skeleton  _ floated _ up into the air, hovering just above the ground until he landed off the stairs a few steps away. He threw a dramatic, angrily pointed finger toward Arthur and the mechanic stiffened from the motion.

_ "Y o u…" _

Him?  _ Him? _ What about him? The voice echoed all around him, displaced but clearly still coming from the dressed skeleton. It was low, chilling, and utterly  _ demanding. _ Trembles overtook the blond boy as he slowly lifted a hand and pointed at himself to confirm.  _ Me? Why me?! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up! I don't even want to be here! _

The skeleton's sockets fell closed as he stood menacingly ahead of the living boy. Arthur watched with widening eyes, wondering what on earth could possibly happen next. More importantly, he wanted to  _ move _ and  _ run _ but he was pinned to his spot.

With a spark of pink, the skeleton's eyes snapped open. The blazers all shot to life in succession with that same spark of pink, purple dancing in the deeper flames. That display was all Arthur needed to  _ finally _ launch his body into motion and scramble up into a stand. As he did, the suited wraith tossed his skull to the side, although there was no neck to do the tossing. A flash of pink followed his actions and settled atop his skull, magenta fire anchoring to the top of his cranium like a hairstyle. 

Arthur had seen enough. His anxiety ramped high, the mechanic wheeled around and bolted for the staircase he'd seen before. He nearly tripped up them twice in his flight upward, stumbling as he made it into a hall and raced down to God only knew where.  _ Just run, get out of here, just-- shit! _

Where were Vivi and Mystery?  _ Dammit _ he couldn't leave without them! He'd already lost one friend to a stupid ghost adventure, he couldn't lose anymore! Glancing behind to see if he was being followed, Arthur yelped in surprise at the sight of the formal skeleton hot on his heels. With an extra burst of speed, the blond boy bolted forward, tearing toward a threshold up ahead.

As he raced into what looked like a kitchen, Arthur nearly stumbled again out of shock. Vivi and Mystery were there -- thank god they were safe -- but they had helped themselves to the kitchen supplies. Of all the times--!

" _ VIV REALLY _ ," he shrieked as he ran by, garnering a startled look from them both, _ "Run!" _

"Wha--  _ ah! _ "

Thankfully Arthur didn't have to stop to see what happened. Rapid footfalls started up behind him to signal Vivi and her dog had quickly got the memo. 

From behind, Vivi shouted, "What did you do?!"

"I don't know," Arthur sputtered back helplessly, breathing getting labored, "I think I woke him up!"

"I mean," the girl reasoned uncertainly, "I get being cranky when being woken up, but this is a bit extreme!"

" _ Tell me about it!" _

As they raced into the hall, something… weird happened. Absolutely nothing looked familiar and there was no clear exit marker. Panicking, the mechanic threw the first door open that he could find and raced into it. The room led to another door that only tossed them back into the hall. In exasperation, Arthur went through another, then another. He vaulted through every door he could find and hoped for the best, relying on blind panic to lead them on where direction failed them.

No, this wasn't a haunted house. This was a place likely  _ made _ by that angry spirit to trap unwisened explorers and they'd fallen for it. He would use their energy or something, feed on them just to make the place more dangerous…! They had to find a way out, and fast.

To Arthur's dread, he realized he had lost sight of both Vivi and Mystery in their mad flight around the mansion halls. He paused and opened his mouth to call out for them when the angry flame of pink sprung into his view. Shrieking, Arthur scrambled forward and threw himself into the nearest room. He prayed for the best but expected the worst.

Sure enough, the room he had run into was a dead end. He was trapped.

The door behind him slammed open, eliciting another shout from the mechanic. He backed up into the furthest corner, outstretched arms bracing against the walls.  _ No, no, not like this! I… I still have to find Lewis!  _

A surge of pink flew through the threshold at monstrous speed. The wraith advanced on him, fire blooming in his wake as the element gathered at his heels and heat seared it's way into the room.  _ Oh god I can't die! I'm going to die! _

" _ No!" _

There was a flash of blue and before Arthur could comprehend what happened, another shape lunged in front of him. Blinking rapidly, his heart sank when he realized what was going on. Vivi had thrown herself in front of him. She had sacrificed herself to save  _ him.  _ No,  _ no _ , not another friend, he couldn't let this happen--

Only… the fire had stopped. The near blinding pink had ebbed and the heat no longer scorched up his back even from the distance. Craning his neck nervously, Arthur realized the wraith had paused in front of Vivi. His beating heart extended toward her, sending a spring of panic through the mechanic. What was it doing? 

Something else caught his attention too. All the walls… they'd vanished. Looking over his shoulder, Arthur clearly saw the exit just a hard sprint away. So the spirit  _ was _ controlling the layout of the mansion. 

_ This is our chance. _ With the phantom distracted, Arthur bit his lip and steeled himself. He only had one shot. 

Flashing his hand forward, Arthur quickly grabbed ahold of Vivi's hand and yanked her behind him. He felt her nearly trip from the force but she picked herself up quickly to follow his pace, and Arthur didn't let go. A glimpse of white showed him Mystery was right there too racing to be ahead of them, and the exit was just in tangible reach.

"Arthur, wait--!"

"No more waiting," the mechanic wheezed, "we're leaving!"

Something was gathering light behind them.  _ Don't look, just run. _ The air surged with heat, all centered at their backs and getting hotter.  _ Just run! _

The moment their shoes broke the threshold, a warping sound split the air. Fire surged up behind them, slamming into the archway but not breaking past the house aside from a blooming heatwave. Arthur didn't dare stop to marvel and instead sprinted down the steps hurriedly to get away. He rushed toward the van and only when he was beside it did he let Vivi go, hauling the door open as quickly as he could. 

Mystery bounded in first, followed almost immediately by a startled Vivi who Arthur rushed inside. The mechanic himself scrambled in last and slammed the door shut, fumbling with the key still in the ignition.  _ C'mon, c'mon! _

Never before had Arthur been so thankful to hear an engine start. Releasing his held breath with the sound, the mechanic stepped on the gas and the ghost hunters peeled away from the mansion with the screeching sound of tires. His white knuckled hands were shaking from how hard he was gripping the steering wheel, willing his racing heart to try and slow down. Never in their experience of ghost hunting had they  _ ever _ run into something like that. Arthur was still trying to get his trembling to stop. 

Over to the side, Vivi had turned in her seat and watched the mansion vanish behind them. Huffing from the excitement, she breathed, "Can you believe what just happened?"

All Arthur could do at the time was let out a nervous bout of laughter. He wished he  _ didn't  _ believe what just happened. That had been  _ horrifying _ . The angry wraith's rage filled gaze as he was mere seconds from incernating the mechanic haunted him. 

"That is the most paranormal proof we have  _ ever _ gotten," Vivi went on excitedly, "and did you see him at the end? I think he was trying to communicate with me!"

Barking a nervous laugh, Arthur glanced her way incredulously, "Sorry, I was too busy trying not to  _ die _ from him to really notice!"

Vivi gave a mild shrug, "Ah, yeah… that's fair. I thought for sure he was going to get us before that. But then he just… stopped."

"By the way," Arthur frowned, rubbing his thumb along the steering wheel, "thanks… for that. It was stupid! But… I think you really saved my skin."

The blue girl took no offense and instead grinned. She nudged the driver's arm, chuckling goodheartedly, "Like I was going to let you fry without trying to stop it."

It was in moments like that that Arthur  _ really _ appreciated his friends. He was such a coward in creepy or haunted places, it was a wonder something like the cave incident or the mansion hadn't happened sooner. At her side, Mystery seemed to notice his dreary expression and gave a snort. The mechanic glanced the dog's way only to receive a tail wag and what he perceived as a smile.  _ Thanks for trying, bud. _

Arthur caught a spark of realization flash across his friend's face in his peripheral before she laughed and leaned back in her seat, "Oh  _ man _ we cannot tell Chloe about this one. She'll be so mad a ghost tried to be my boyfriend when  _ she _ wants a ghost boyfriend."

Startled, Arthur gave the book girl a confused look, "Seriously Viv?"

"You watch a ghost try and give you his heart," Vivi defended with a laugh. "What else can you take from that?"

Well… she had a point. Vivi always had a knack for the paranormal. He just hoped it wouldn't get them into more trouble later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay! My editor/bestie has been going through some personal stuff lately, but she's ok and we're back on track!  
> And to the video that started it all! I had a lot of fun transcribing the events for fanfic sake and lightly adjusting things to fit outside a comic scooby-doo'esque video.  
> SPEAKING OF, HOW ABOUT THAT TEASER? I'm so excited for The Future!


	17. Got To Get Back To The Life That I Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I'm not freaking out  
>  But it feels like time is running out  
> How did this shit come about?  
> I'm not freaking out  
> But I'm afraid  
> Afraid of losing you_  
> F r e a k i n g O u t

When Arthur was sure they'd gotten a safe distance away, the mechanic pulled the van off onto the shoulder of the road. Usually they tried to go for truck stops for the evening, but the van had felt off ever since the mansion and he wanted to make sure nothing had been knocked loose before going too far. In the meantime, Vivi decided to rest early and laid down in the back of the van. They'd only talked a little more about the mansion, with Arthur feeling a strangeness surrounding the whole thing. He couldn't shake that ghostly, disembodied voice and the vile glare shot his way. 

What had he done to deserve it? And why had that place felt… so  _ bizarre?  _ He couldn't place  _ how _ it felt bizarre, just that it did. Like some old haunted memory he hadn't revisited in a decade, or a voice he'd heard once in a movie as a child but never again. It was the strangest feeling, and for all he could tell, Vivi didn't share the sentiment. He quietly wondered why.

After Vivi got settled, Arthur propped up beside her with a sigh, letting the vehicle rest while he went about his nightly ritual of marking their events. He kept the doors open to give them fresh air, hoping to cut through the remaining nerves from the weird occurrence. Mystery laid behind the laptop near the blue girl, and for the most part, the evening was quiet aside from a random car passing them by on the road from time to time. With the late hour, the wandering roads weren't very active.

Vivi was asleep in no time, and not for the first time Arthur quietly envied how easily she fell asleep. It had always been that way though, and he never held any true animosity toward it. But  _ man _ did he wish he could sleep as soundlessly as she did. For the last week especially, his sleep had been restless and light, haunted by his goal and any noises that were louder than an idle hum. He swore to himself things would get easier once they found Lewis, and it was that hope alone that kept him going.

They just had to find him. And soon. For Lewis’s sake and Arthur’s own sanity.

A shiver passed up his spine, stirring him briefly from his stare at the screen. Arthur blinked. Weird, he hadn't felt any wind. Sighing, the mechanic rubbed his tired eyes and refocused. No new search results, only the same old things he'd read and practically memorized.  _ Damn. _

It was only a few minutes before he shivered again. But the shiver manifested more aggressively, intensely, and Arthur had to stop himself from dropping his laptop as the jolt shot down his spine like a strike to his core. He breathed in quickly, eyes wide and looking around. His breathing came in shallow pulls, and as he looked, he realized there wasn’t a thing in sight that could have hit him. Nothing, absolutely nothing.

Leaning back, the mechanic let out a sigh.  _ I'm overtired… my nerves are completely fried. _ He idly heard the sound of a vehicle pass before looking up at his laptop. With the ghost of a smile, he closed the route map and looked at his desktop background behind it all. It was himself, Vivi, and Lewis at the Pepper Paradiso with the latter's family. Despite getting pranked by Lewis's sisters, it had been a good day. One he missed. He missed the normality, the comradery of the three of them together. He missed _ Lewis. _

Something caught the corner of his eye. Startled, Arthur looked over as warped cylinders rose around him. No, no it was tails, the  _ tails.  _ His heart lunged into his throat and his hand flashed over to his metal arm, gripping it in fear and phantom pain alike. Red eyes stared at him from the silhouette the tails belonged to, gleaming in the dark. When had it gotten so dark?

Red, red, pain,  _ pain… _

In an instant the image was gone and he was back to sitting on the edge of the van. Yelping in surprise, Arthur flailed where he sat at the sharp transition around him and promptly fell off the back of the van. Hitting the ground with a grimacing grunt, he yelped again as his laptop crashed into him. He scrambled with the grip, sighing a heaved breath when everything looked intact.

"Wha..?"

Vivi's half asleep voice reached him and the mechanic cleared his throat, "N-nothing! Just... J-just my eyes playing tricks on me, is all…"

Why… why had he seen  _ that? _ The vision before he woke up at the hospital, the creature that haunted his nightmares… He really  _ was _ overtired. Arthur needed to focus, he was seeing things and feeling things he shouldn't. He couldn't be losing his grip that easily. Sure he’d been getting maybe three hours of sleep a night, but he was fine. All he needed were little spurts of rest, he could fully sleep later. Other things were more important. Still, it  _ really _ wasn’t good that he was starting to see and feel things that didn’t exist in the waking world. Couple that with the massive shot of adrenaline he’d gotten at the mansion, and surely his mind was a playground for paranoia and further hallucinations. 

The obvious choice was to surrender and just go to sleep. To lay down, try and get an honest good night's sleep for the first time in months, and work from there. That would be  _ great; _ but it wasn't the choice Arthur went with. He needed a distraction, and they needed to get to a rest stop before he surrendered to sleep. And so, shakily, the mechanic stood and deposited his laptop into the back of the van. He pointedly avoided looking at the dog crouched by Vivi's legs and instead pulled out the mechanic creeper he had stowed against the wall and his travel toolset.

After closing the back door to give Vivi some peace, Arthur idly walked to the front of the van.  _ Just keep your mind busy, just stay busy…  _ The mechanic shed his vest and set it on the shoulder railing, then laid back on the creeper and carefully rolled under the van. Nothing looked extremely out of place, but there were a few things that could use tightening and cleaning while he was under. 

Keeping up his promise -- at least somewhat -- of keeping his mind busy, Arthur went to work on fastening loosened bolts and brushing off heavily dusted areas from their travels. He still wasn't sure  _ why _ the van had malfunctioned in the first place and he almost blamed that weird wraith for it since they had stopped so conveniently in front of the mansion. He supposed it wasn't completely out there; Vivi would eagerly believe that conclusion. Still, even more reason to get further away. The last thing they needed was to be stranded with an angry haunt on their tail.

With the fastening of one last bolt, Arthur rolled himself back out from under the van and huffily wiped at his forehead. Thankfully he hadn't been contending with the heat of the day; the residual warmth of the van having been running before was enough. Going on autopilot, he threw his vest back on and tucked his tools and creeper back into the van quietly. Vivi was still sound asleep, undisturbed by his movements, and he was glad for her ability to sleep deeply. At least she was getting rest.

Tiredly, Arthur hauled himself back into the cab and closed the door with an inward sigh. Color caught his eye and he glanced over, sucking in a breath and startling hard when he realized Mystery was sitting in the passenger seat. When had he gotten there? Arthur leaned away with a jolt of fear, his pulse lunging into his throat. For a split second, all he saw were the tails and the glint of red before his vision flashed back to the little dog in the seat.

Mystery looked completely unaware of him, preoccupied instead by… a red flower petal? Odd. He didn't remember passing a lot of floral places with the windows down. Arthur managed to calm down a little, looking back and forth between the petal and the dog. For some reason, Mystery looked almost nervous. Scared, if the mechanic ventured far enough. What about a flower could scare the infallible Mystery?

Frowning gently, Arthur bit his lip and slowly reached out his hand. He hovered it briefly over Mystery's head, trembling, before dropping it and rubbing gently into the fur. Mystery looked quietly surprised, melting into the dog's version of a thankful expression and nuzzled into the hand. Arthur's pulse calmed and he grinned gently back at the dog, feeling some of his apprehension ease. _Mystery is a good boy. These visions and weird memories…_ _I can't let them convince me otherwise._

Put at ease at least for the moment, Arthur let himself relax and started them gently back on the road. The van ran just fine, and with it Arthur felt just a little more comfortable. He let the radio play at a quiet volume, enough noise to help him stay awake, but gentle enough to keep Vivi asleep in the back. Mystery eventually fell asleep in the passenger seat, leaving Arthur the lone Mystery Skull awake with half closed eyes on the road and chin leaned against his metal palm. 

Nothing sounded more appealing than that rest stop. Technically he could just head home for the night, they were relatively close to town thanks to the pattern of the loop Arthur had planned out.  _ Just find something, anywhere. You need to sleep. _

After going a few more miles, Arthur noticed a static on the radio. At first he ignored it -- things like that happened sometimes in the desert, or anywhere between radio towers -- that is, until the console housing the radio started buzzing with pink electrical energy.

Arthur blinked, raising his brow at the radio as he tilted his head off his hand.  _ What…? _ Flicking his eyes from the road to the radio, he noticed the song on the station change and glitch between frequencies. Before he could read it, the electrically charged pink shot off into the dial console. Arthur's eyes widened with realization. No, no, that had happened right before…

The van began to slow as the headlights flickered. Dials that had been carefully monitored lunged all the way to the right before falling to dead with a slow hum, copying the slowing of the van.  _ No, no, come on… _

Watching with a dismayed huff, Arthur tried to keep his heart rate down.  _ We can fix this, I can…  _ There was a flicker in his vision. Gasping, the mechanic quickly looked up into the rearview mirror. He… he could've sworn he saw something…  _ Not now brain, this isn’t the time to hallucinate! _

Steeling himself, the lone Mystery Skull peered behind his seat through the back window. At first, he didn't see anything aside from the dark road of a night highway. There was a rumble slowly growing louder though, one he could barely hear, and then pink slowly manifesting.

Except it wasn't actually slow. It was going  _ fast _ , and the rumble grew into the roar of a bigger vehicle steadily bearing down on them as a silhouette took shape.

Arthur whirled back around and tried desperately to reignite the ignition. The van chugged in response, slowing to its inevitable stop on the highway.  _ No, no, no! _

The mechanic looked back and forth quickly, turning the key with no avail over and over. That cursed pink sparked from the controls still, lingering on all the electronics. Whimpering in panic, Arthur stopped trying the ignition and started shaking and hitting the steering column; anything to make the van  _ move _ .  _ Come on, come on! _

With one more panicked look back, Arthur raised his shaking fist in desperation. He threw it down against the console dashboard in a last ditch effort to jumpstart it, his metal arm denting the casing. The pink sparks jumped, fizzled, and surged into his arm like a hungry beast. In an instant, Arthur's nerves were on  _ fire _ .

A shout split the air as the sparks lit every nerve ending alight in fiery shock. His arm gave a shudder, a twitch, then dropped limply to the mechanic's side. As the tide of pain lessened, Arthur found himself trembling and gripping at his metal arm. It hurt, it had  _ hurt _ . Why did he do that? Why did the  _ sparks _ do that? Prying an eye open, the mechanic used his real arm to lift his metal one, eyes widening in realization. He couldn't… he couldn’t move it. His arm wasn't responding.

_ No no no! Did I short it out? Damnit!  _ Of all the times..! It had gotten dark, darker than it had been before, and a roar hung over them like a thunderous cloud. Arthur's heart dropped into his stomach. He slowly looked over his shoulder, vaguely noticing Mystery groggily awakening, and yelped at the sight behind them. The mystery vehicle -- a giant semi truck -- had found them.

Arthur had no time to think. He slammed on the gas and with a shock, the van screeched and peeled away from its spot in the middle of the highway. Somehow, his arm stunt had worked. Mystery was flung back in the seat with the velocity, and somewhere behind them Arthur could hear the insulted growl of the semi revving up in pursuit. 

Items of all kinds were sent sailing off their shelves in the back. He didn't think about it much until he remembered  _ Vivi  _ was in the back sleeping with all their flying items. Or she was. He vaguely caught her groggy confused noises, then a sickening  _ pang! _ as her trusty metal bat rolled off the shelf. With a twinge in his stomach, Arthur tossed a quick glance back to see her knocked out in her sleeping bag.  _ Shit, sorry Viv!  _

He looked back forward, keeping his friends state in mind and praying nothing else fell, when he noticed a tunnel approaching. More importantly, the tunnel had a "No Trucks Xing" over it. Arthur's heart lurched in a moment of hope and he pressed the gas all the way to the floor, gripping the steering wheel tightly with his one hand as they flew into the tunnel. Darkness swallowed them for a moment only to spit them back out, and Arthur spared a hopeful, victorious glance over his shoulder. There's no way the truck could--

The tunnel flared pink. Again, brighter. Then again. On the fourth beat, a massive surge of fiery magenta shot through the archway and flew behind them. The semi manifested from the giant ball of fire, leaving Arthur's heart dropping back into his stomach. He spared a bewildered look with Mystery, relieved that the dog somehow looked just as stunned as him.  _ Seriously? _

And so the chase continued. The two vehicles raced down the highway with the semi inching closer and closer as the seconds passed. Arthur didn't rightly know what to do. The truck could defy physics by bending itself for its surroundings, so how could he  _ possibly _ outpace it? All he could do was hope for an exit or some type of miracle.

What exploded out of the road ahead of them  _ definitely _ wasn't that. Something white and blue shot up from a hole in the asphalt and before Arthur could swerve to avoid it, the being tackled the front of the van with purpose. Arthur let out a shrill shout. What was going  _ on?! _

It -- she? -- reared up on the hood of the van, wielding a wicked pair of scissors above her head with a wild gleam in her eye. The woman stabbed them into the van's windshield, effectively cracking it.  _ What!?  _ She stabbed again, splintering the glass further, and the third time her arm and scissors alike broke through the windshield. The blades stabbed into the seat dangerously close to Mystery -- no, they'd grazed him, the dog was  _ bleeding. _ What was this woman and why was she going after their dog?!

Apparently she had  _ meant _ to target Mystery too. As soon as she noticed the blood, her eyes grew wilder,  _ hungry _ , and she reared her arm back for what would likely be a lethal stab. Arthur was helpless to stop her in his panic. 

Until the van jostled. An explosion sounded from the back and the van fishtailed, skidding on what sounded like its rim. Had he blown a tire?! Of all the damn times--! Scrambling, Arthur threw all his one armed strength into correcting the wild van, eyes darting upward quickly when the blue woman was flung off from the erratic movements.  _ Finally  _ something going his way tonight. The van evened out despite the grinding of the rim driving and Arthur gave a sigh of relief. 

It had come too soon. Before he could pull the wheel, the van slammed through a construction barricade on the side of the highway and sent them plummeting down a steep, off-road hillside. As Arthur shouted on their way down, he noticed two things: one, Mystery wasted no time in scrambling into the back of the van for safety. And two, they were plummeting right toward his uncle's shop with no hope of stopping gracefully. The mechanic was prepared for the worst.

What had he done to deserve a night as crazy as this?

Just before impact, Arthur jerked the wheel and eased on the brakes. He grit his teeth, trying not to tense up because he knew he'd just make everything  _ worse _ , before his entire world was sent rocking and exploding with the sound of crunching metal.

Bells rang in his ears, warping his hearing and sight alike. He was beyond dazed, drifting in and out of consciousness in a world of dizzying black. Maybe it was a mercy he didn't know the immediate damage of the crash. All he wanted to do was sleep. He had just wanted to find a truck stop.

The bells began to change frequency. They shifted, quieted, and Arthur slowly became aware of things again. The first thing he became aware of was he definitely wasn't in the driver's seat. He… wasn't in the van? Had he been thrown? Where… blinking his eyes open painfully, the mechanic reaching up to place his hand on his pounding head.  _ Jesus _ , ow. What…

One dazed glance upward answered his voiceless question. A well dressed skeleton stood at his side, staring down with flaming,  _ angry  _ eyes. Arthur couldn't help but shriek. So it  _ had _ been that wraith that followed them! He never should have stopped! A look of annoyance breached past the anger and with one swift movement, Arthur felt his world shift with a heave. He flew backwards into a gaping maw of blackness, one that the mechanic couldn't even begin to fathom how it had appeared. His yelling continued, the fall accentuated only by the rapidly vanishing shape and eyes of a hellbent haunt fading into the dark. 

When Arthur landed, it was with a heavy  _ thud _ .

_ Where _ he landed he didn't know, but Arthur blearily looked up as he managed to support himself with his good arm, shaking with the effort and fatigue grappling at his muscles from his lack of sleep and the crash. Dashes of pink split the darkness, exposing the landscape slowly in their highlighting trails. Before he could really get a good look around however, the pink took form and quivered into those angry ghosts that had appeared at the mansion. They growled and jeered, all eyes turned on him _. No, no, please! Just leave me alone already! _

Scrambling up clumsily, Arthur bolted for whatever path he could find to try and get away. He just wanted to escape this nonsense, why couldn't they have just passed that stupid mansion! Now they had a harmful attachment that they couldn't shake! As the mechanic raced toward two paths, he aimed for the one dead ahead before the pink ghosts appeared in his way and shrieked. Flailing to keep from bowling into them, Arthur lurched away and raced instead for the second path. Something about the setting was familiar but he had no time to think, he just had to keep running, to get away, to--

_ Hopefully not fall into a lethal pit! _ Arthur's heart flew into his throat as he dug his heels into the ground, swinging his arm wildly to try and maintain balance over the edge. His momentum stabilized and as he held his shaking arm out, Arthur released a nervous breath. That had been… way too close. 

All at once, that relief evaporated as a hand reached and grabbed onto the front of his shirt. He was jerked back and into the air in one fluid movement, and all Arthur could manage was to immediately grapple at the arm with his good hand and kick his feet aimlessly to try and get away. As expected, his efforts were futile in the grip of the seething ghost. 

Not like this, not like  _ this! _ He still had to find Lewis! He couldn't succumb here and now, he  _ had _ to find his friend. He swore he'd bring the waiter back, he  _ swore _ that all three of them would return home  _ together _ . All he wanted was their normalcy back. All he wanted was  _ Lewis _ back. He didn't care if the purple haired boy never looked at him more than a friend,  _ he didn't care _ , he just… he just wanted…

Fueled by desperation of several sorts, some type of magic happened. The pink sparks shook all along his metal arm and with effort that he hadn't used before, Arthur managed to move it. His arm jerked shakily, then went upward and clung onto the one suspending him above --  _ oh god,  _ suspending him above the pit he had narrowly avoided seconds before. The wraith was going to drop him, he was going to kill him!

As Arthur strained to look at the rage filled skull across from him, something… something changed. Pink fire billowed up from the hole of his neck, fading up the skull and… changing it to skin. The face revealed itself, bearing a snarl and a look of pure  _ loathing  _ and betrayal.

All at once, Arthur's antics stopped. His eyes widened as his heart sank into his hollow stomach, feeling a numb wash of shock overtake him like a wave. He knew that face, he'd never forget it. He had befriended it, fallen for it, had been searching for it tirelessly for  _ days _ . 

In a shaky breath, Arthur did all he could do short of breaking into confused sobs at the very sight of the boy he had been looking for all along.

" _ Lewis?" _

Before the mechanic even knew what was going on beyond his own shock, the wraith let go. 

So did Arthur. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My days off at work changed, so now chapter updates will be on Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays! Enjoy lads!
> 
> And here we've come full circle!


	18. I Won’t Let Them Take You Away From Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _In my mind  
>  Thought it was just an illusion  
> I wished for something like this  
> Now, I just can't run_  
> E n d l e s s l y

_ All at once, sensations and feelings began to assault him. Voices and sounds, sights and memories, and it took Lewis a moment to realize he wasn't seeing through his own eyes or feeling with his own emotions. Beyond him, he could vaguely see Arthur looking at him in soft confusion, but the wraith couldn’t rightly focus on him alone. _

_ Images blasted by, filling his mind and soul alike as the golden haze magnified until... _

Lewis blinked back to the present, the breath he didn't need coming in near shaking gasps. His hand holding the locket trembled uncontrollably, and he could feel his flames jittering under the illusion of his human face. He hadn't expected anything, he had expected nothing, but instead he had gotten  _ everything. _ It left him reeling, coming to the realization that he was experiencing his own emotions again, not the mechanics, but he… he…

He never realized. All their time together, the looks, the hesitations, the off hand remarks he didn't think twice about,  _ all of it _ . They had been for him, Arthur had been falling for  _ him _ . Not Vivi. How did he not realize? Had his own affection for Vivi blinded him from the truth that much? Had he really never considered  _ once _ that Arthur may have had other feelings for him other than friendship? Lewis had been so sure… So comfortably sure in a false reality. But that reality, that reality had been  _ wrong _ . Oh so wrong. Just when he thought he’d had Arthur figured out to the base fundamentals, he realized how sorely off he had been. Arthur...

Of all the memories that didn't belong to him, he recalled that final night. When Lewis had followed his friend up to the hill and laid beside him, dozing off under the stars. He hadn't known the real reason Arthur snuck off, but he did know it was wrong for him to be alone. Lewis hadn’t  _ wanted _ him to be alone. The wraith remembered waking up and feeling the heat against his palm, how he paused and felt that same heat travel up his back and spread over his cheeks in the dark. Perhaps there was some part of him that suspected he  _ hadn't  _ actually grabbed Arthur's hand in his sleep, but he didn't entertain the notion too much. Or tried not to, anyhow.

He'd thought about it after going to the tent. Their glances, remarks, and residual warmth he could almost still feel in his hand. It was a thought he shouldn't have had, an emotion he shouldn't explore for someone else especially when he was already in a relationship, but he only let it linger for a little while. Of course, everything that had happened after left those moments buried in dust and misguided anger.

If Arthur truly hadn't been jealous of him, then why...?

" _ Lewis." _

The wraith startled. Looking up, he noticed Arthur staring at him with eyes darting in concern, his hand having shifted off the locket but still hovering nearby. Where--? Right… the cave. They were still in the cave. All of it, all of that had happened within a mere few seconds. Lewis felt himself still reeling, trying to comprehend  _ everything _ he felt like he had just lived through.

"Dude, are you okay?" Something like a nervous smirk twitched onto Arthur's face, "pardon the… comparison, but y-you look like you've seen a ghost."

More seriously, Arthur pressed, "Did I hurt you? I-I didn't meant to, I tried to be as light as I could but I--"

"Arthur," the ghost breathed. His name silenced the mechanic with surprised wide eyes and a soft flush of color coming back to his face. Managing to quell most of his shakes, the haunt looked down at his locket and paused at the sight. He sensed Arthur following his gaze and the two stared in dumbstruck, silent surprise.

The locket… While not fully healed, it no longer donned a sickly black hue or a spider web of cracks. No, instead it was a deep orange with only a single lightning strike fracture through the middle of it. Arthur… had been right. His touch, it  _ had _ healed him. And Lewis was sure he understood why. All those emotions… those thoughts, those feelings, the  _ guilt _ and  _ determination _ , all of it. It had nearly been too much, but Lewis understood, he  _ understood _ and he… he had been so blind. So, so blind.

With a press of his thumb, the metal  _ clicked _ and opened in his hand. Inside, nestled in the shape of the heart, was a picture of him and Vivi. Only… it  _ wasn't _ just the two of them. A haze appeared beside them, filling the empty spaces with a fuller image. Poking up behind Lewis was a peculiarly smiling Mystery, and then over Vivi a grinning Arthur. The full set, originally snuffed out by his anger and lust for vengeance.

Was that how he wanted to leave his life? Actions blinded by anger? Lewis closed his eyes with a sigh, shifting his thumb to close the locket. No, he couldn't pass on that way. He couldn't let that final drive be his one remembering act. The ghost refused to let that hellbent rage snuff out the good in his life.  _ All _ of the good.

Idly, he heard Arthur say, "I remember that now… That's the locket Viv gave you."

Lifting his head and opening his eyes, Lewis nodded once and extended the locket a little further, offering it to the surprised mechanic across from him.

"Take it," Lewis insisted gently, watching him. Moments ago he would have never made such an extension, but now… he trusted Arthur. He  _ knew _ Arthur.

"Wh- your anchor?" Arthur looked nearly beside himself. Suspicious even, "b-but… but I--"

"Please," Lewis continued. The orange boy froze, staring as gears tried to turn in his head. Lewis could only imagine how lost the poor guy was. He had been through such a rollercoaster the one night alone. For the first time that night, Lewis felt  _ bad _ . Horrible, even. Gone was the anger and betrayal he'd been so bent on, instead replaced with solemn remorse he struggled to grasp. He had stamped all feelings other than anger away, only for that single touch to slingshot it off its pedestal to make way for their return. He had been dumped into a pool of them all, the water bleeding purple and orange, and Lewis tried desperately to process it all.

Still uncertain, Arthur waited a moment before he nervously reached back forward. His fingers cupped the locket before the nervous boy held it solidly between his palms. While Lewis wasn't assaulted by the memories and emotions again, he  _ did  _ feel what Arthur felt for him. He felt what was there deep down and… it soothed him.

And because of that, Lewis leaned forward. He circled his arms around his tensed up friend, squeezing the blonde boy close as his chest shuddered. He could feel his heart, his locket, beating hard in the hands that held it. Not only that, he could feel Arthur's  _ racing  _ against his ribs. His friend was unsure.  _ Scared. _

Lewis never wanted Arthur to be scared of him again.

"Arthur, I'm…" His resolve wavered, but as he felt his friends continued touch, Lewis squeezed him just a little tighter, "I'm so sorry."

"It’s-- it’s okay. But uh, for… f-for what, exactly," Arthur asked, his own voice cloaked in uncertainty. He stayed stock still while Lewis held him and he only moved after a few moments, settling his own arms around the wraith in return. In his real hand he still held the locket, pressing it against Lewis's back in his grip.

Lewis huffed, "For nearly killing you, for starters."

A shaky laugh sounded at his shoulder and the ghost felt Arthur shake his head, "I-I mean… You were uh, pretty convinced I deserved it a few minutes ago."

"I know," Lewis conceded. Carefully, the wraith pulled back from the hug but held the mechanic at arms length as he looked into his quietly confused face, "And I'm so sorry. I didn't… I didn't understand. I couldn’t see beyond my… my drive for revenge to see what you saw."

Arthur stared at him almost blankly, furrowing his brows, "And… now?" Clearing his throat, the nervous boy continued, "N-not that I'm not thankful for the… change of heart, but I'm just.. really confused. What, what changed?"

Reaching with one hand, Lewis took Arthur's and flipped his palm up to expose the locket. He pressed his thumb to the smooth surface, voice gentle as he said, "This did."

For a moment, Arthur could only stare at the smoother surface. He'd seen the cracks heal, but even still, he didn't seem to understand  _ why _ they had. It was only when his shoulders jostled once and then he bowed his head into a laugh did something seem to click. The mechanic leaned forward, resting his head against Lewis's shoulder as he laughed. And Lewis let him, settling his other hand on his metal arm as he gently watched him. 

"You," Arthur huffed, "had a  _ literal _ change of heart."

The humor wasn’t lost on Lewis and the Pepper boy lightly smirked. It wasn’t like his tense or humorless ones from before, but one he felt came much more naturally. More naturally and… almost sadly.

"Does that mean," Arthur ventured in his relieved laughter, "that… that you  _ really _ don't want to kill me now?"

At that, Lewis's smirk absolutely turned saddened. No, he  _ didn't  _ want to kill Arthur. Sure some semblance of anger was still there, but he couldn't pin it on the mechanic. He just… couldn't. Not after all of that.

"No, I don't," Lewis told him, "I finally understand the weight you've carried all this time.”

Gently, Arthur leaned back and looked at his friend in soft confusion. His tired eyes were searching, damp from his spell of laughter. Or had he been tearing up again? It was hard to say. "You… do?"

Lewis squeezed his hand then turned his eyes downward to the locket, "I'm not sure how it works entirely, but because of this. Because you touched the locket, I saw, I felt… I  _ know _ everything you've felt about me. I… I felt it all for myself."

Looking back up, the wraith stared into stunned golden eyes, "And I'm so sorry I never realized any of it before. I should've seen the signs ages ago."

Arthur was stunned into silence. His lips were parted as he tried to comprehend what Lewis had just told him, and a second later his face appeared flush with color again, “You… you saw everything?”   


His gentle smirk returning, Lewis confirmed, “Everything. From the moment we met until a few minutes ago.”

The mechanic holding his locket broke their gaze, his eyes searching thoughts and memories Lewis couldn’t completely guess the origin on. That gaze fell to the locket, a single thumb brushing across it and settling on the crack as Arthur frowned.

“If… if you know everything, then,” the boy stammered, “I… I’m sorry for lying, for the jealousy, for not just…  _ talking _ to you. I just couldn’t find it in myself to…”

Lewis interjected softly with a squeeze to his hand, “I know. I wish you had, but I understand why.”

There was a moment when Arthur looked taken aback, his expression compelling him to speak. His eyes moved minisculely but rapidly over words he wanted to say. Arthur even opened his mouth to start but cut himself off with a sigh, furrowed brows turning away from the ghost. The wraith nearly asked what was wrong when Arthur’s eyes widened and his gaze snapped back to his old friend.

“Wait,” the mechanic huffed, “you saw everything. Does that mean you saw what I did in the cave? Did you see more than I did? What...” With desperate eyes, he pleaded, “What  _ happened _ , Lew?”

Frowning himself, Lewis thought over those memories. Of his own, of Arthur's, and how the entire situation made no sense at all to him. Yes, he  _ did _ see Arthur shove him off. But the expression, one he thought twisted with monstrous jealousy… now seemed different. Altered. A cloud of green had been blocking part of his friend's face, but upon gaining Arthur's memories, it had shifted away just enough.

Enough to reveal one side twisted in malice and glee, while the other traced with tears and utter panic.

"You blacked out," Lewis eventually said, his eyes idly focused between the two of them, "shortly after we entered the chamber."

Hearing that, Arthur deflated a little, another sigh escaping him, "So we... still don't have a solid answer."

"Not a solid one," Lewis said, "but a slightly clearer one. What do you remember after blacking out?"

Uncertain, Arthur raised a thoughtful brow and shifted the locket in his hand, "Just… waking up to some strange beast my mind thought was Mystery, then vaguely in the van I think, and finally in the hospital after surgery."

"That's not all you remember," Lewis told him. His friend stared in confusion at the sure statement and the wraith went on, "I don't think your memories held it but your subconscious does. After you blacked out but before you woke up, there was a voice."

Arthur's brows rose, "Voice?"

"It tried to convince you to let go, to let it consume you," Lewis went on, "before another butted in and you woke up to the aftermath." With Arthur stunned, Lewis concluded, "And judging by the face I saw after getting pushed, I think it's safe to say you were possessed."

The mechanic's face paled, shifting the hand holding the locket closer to his chest as if suddenly afraid, " _ Possessed? _ Something  _ used  _ me to  _ kill _ you?"

"It…" Lewis trailed off under knitted brows, "seems like it."

"Oh God," Arthur wheezed, shifting his metal hand to his forehead. His eyes became unfocused and dropped downwards, racing over things Lewis couldn’t see, "I… even if it used me, that means I still did it, no, I, Lewis I-I--"

Thanks to the touch, Lewis could feel the panic attack coming sooner than he saw it. The wraith leaned forward, cupping Arthur's face in his hands and encouraging him to look up. Arthur's panic was momentarily put on pause from surprise and Lewis took the opportunity.

"No, Arthur," the ghost interjected softly but firmly, " _ You _ did nothing but fight it. You didn't want to do it. You wrestled for control and by all accounts,  _ you  _ didn't kill me, but whatever spirit that was in the cave did."

"But it  _ used me _ to do it," Arthur nearly wailed, raising his free hand to grip Lewis’s arm, "how the hell are you ever going to look at me the same again when I'm the one you saw  _ shove you  _ off a cliff?! Not only that, I killed someone!" At that, Arthur's entire composure fell into a hollowed eyed stare, "Oh… oh god… I killed someone."

The ghost shook his head, silently pleading for Arthur to listen to him, "Arthur, it wasn't you. It was a malevolent spirit. You're innocent. Do you understand? I think you're innocent, and I believe you." Lewis sighed shakily to keep his composure, "I'm not going to lie, it'll take a bit of work to set things right. But I know we can overcome this."

Thankfully, Arthur seemed to snap out of the spiral he had nearly launched himself down. Lewis hadn't realized how much influence he had over the mechanic.  _ That's… what happens when you really care for someone, I guess. _

A bitter, strained smile took Arthur's face only to fall immediately, "How? You're… you're already suffering from the worst outcome of it."

"Well, I don't want to kill you anymore," Lewis huffed with some sort of laughter, "and I'm pretty sure that's the main reason I even came back like this."

"That's a start, I suppose," the mechanic mused emptily, fatigue coming back in place of the panic. His expression grew concerned, eyes darting over Lewis's face as he held the locket tighter to his chest, "if… that was your driving force, does that mean you're… going to disappear now?"

Lewis blinked. He hadn't actually thought of that. His driving force had been revenge, and now that he couldn't extract that revenge… what would happen? He didn't feel himself fading away, didn't  _ think  _ his bond with the mortal realm was waning. By all accounts… he still remained like he had before, just less ravenous for justice.

"I don't think so," Lewis decided, lowering his hands from Arthur's face, "If I can't take revenge… then I can't disappear, I think."

"So we just need to keep you from killing me," Arthur said with a sigh only to glance up unsurely, "unless you…  _ want _ to disappear."

Lewis immediately shook his head, "I still have so much I want to do, so much to take care of. I can't yet, I don't want to."

Nodding, Arthur seemed to relax. His expression slowly slipped to solemn however, shoulders sinking with it heavily. Not for the first time that night, his friend looked completely miserable. The mechanic leaned forward again, bumping his head to Lewis's shoulder and staying there, clutching the locket to his chest. Softly surprised, Lewis reached one hand to lay gently on the back of his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Lew," he heard Arthur whisper, "If I could… if I could just go back and fight harder against whatever it was--"

"Hey," Lewis urged gently, moving his other hand to Arthur's remaining shoulder, "it's… okay. What's done is done. I'm still here, right? I might be different, but I'm still me." Shifting to get Arthur to look up at him, Lewis smiled back encouragingly, "You found me, just like you'd been trying."

Gaining a weaker smile after a moment, Arthur tiredly countered, "You found me, remember?"

With a more solid grip, Lewis squeezed his friend's shoulders and grinned, "I did." More sheepishly, he added, "Ah, sorry about, y'know… chasing you everywhere. I  _ did _ mean to scare you but in hindsight..."

"You know," Arthur laughed, "if being chased by an angry ghost meant finding you, I'd have endured the whole night and then some."

The mechanic cleared his throat after that, glancing away as his smile turned nervous. With that, Lewis's own smile softened and he murmured, "I know."

Likely unused to his feelings being known, Arthur lifted his free hand to rub at his neck. When he looked back at Lewis, his smile lost some of the nerves, replaced instead by an emotion no longer masked. It quietly took the ghost off guard, but that wasn't to say he didn't…  _ like _ the look. Quite… the opposite, actually. Had he been living, he was sure his heart would have skipped and his face would have warmed. The revelation was new, unexplored, and unexpected but at the same time not unwelcome.

Lewis… was alright with that. Maybe it didn't have to be.

"I really missed you, Lew," Arthur whispered between them. "I was… so scared I wouldn't see you again."

Smiling back tenderly, Lewis breathed, "I know I couldn't have said it before, but I missed you too. All of you."

_ BLAM! _

The sound echoed, filling the vast emptiness with the daunting hum. Both boys sat completely still, stunned by the ricocheting drone. 

That had been a shotgun blast. 

They looked at one another wide eyed, each whispering the same name when the noise died down. It was in that simultaneous whisper that they realized much more demanded their attention than wounds barely bandaged over by apologies.

_ "Vivi." _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact! Originally, this chapter was where I planned to end this fic. This was the scripted end so that it could line up nicely with the end of Hellbent, but then, as my mind does, ah... things got away from me. As I got closer and closer to finishing this chapter, I kept envisioning more and more things happening, so I caved and kept going :,D! There were a few drafts on how the next chapter would go, but in the end with some help from my editor/bestie, I decided on the route we're about to engage.  
> I've had a lot of fun so far (as well as some future plans I'm currently writing oho) and I hope to convince myself to finish that to add on!  
> Anyway, enough rambling, I hope you guys have had fun and keep enjoying the read! I know I have :D  
> Stay safe out there, and happy pride.  
> Also, here's a [ sketch song comic I did](https://rinzydings.tumblr.com/post/622293151019892736/welp-here-ya-folks-go-i-intended-to-line-and) for the fic up until this point!


	19. Ooh, You Turned Me Upside Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Ooh, you lied to my face  
>  Ooh, you should've seen me baby  
> I could've done something, wish I'd done something, something, nothing over again_  
> E v e r y N o t e  
> ( O r i g i n a l )

Ahead of him, Lewis immediately stood from his spot in front of the mechanic. Arthur, still holding the locket to his chest, watched with nervous energy about the whole thing. Where had that gunshot come from? Was someone else in the cave with them? Were they in _danger?_ Speaking of danger, oh god, Vivi, he didn't know what had happened to her after the crash. He'd been so caught in his own personal chaos that he didn't think twice!

Scrambling, Arthur moved to follow the ghost when something… strange happened. The very air around them shifted, reality itself closing in on them as the cave shrunk with shadows. The foreboding walls of the cave melted away to durable sheet metal, and the cave floor beneath his feet turned into much of the same. What…? 

Trying not to waver too hard, Arthur stammered, "Wh-what just…"

"Sorry," Lewis offered awkwardly, glancing back as his human face melted back to that of the skull and flaming pompadour, "we were, ah… never _really_ at the cave. It was just an illusion of it to set the atmosphere I wanted."

Blinking rapidly, Arthur resumed his standing and braced against the truck wall as his heart raced, "S-so when I fell… was I just falling into fake spikes or?"

Breathing in a sigh, Lewis broke their gaze, turning his stare toward the opening of the truck in what Arthur thought was shame, "No."

Well, at least he was honest. Still, Arthur frowned as he advanced behind Lewis and followed in his footsteps. The wraith paused at the back opening of the truck and stared, and Arthur wasted no time in following that gaze.

The scene ahead was something out of a folk legend with a modern twist. Their van was crunched against the side of the building; that Arthur had guessed would happen, and was being used as an obstacle between two parties. First there was Vivi on the ground with… with _Mystery?_ He was massive -- not a dog, but a _kitsune --_ standing just behind her. It took all of Arthur's control not to regress into panic, masking it by ducking further behind Lewis instead. He imagined those teeth, those awful, sharp teeth…

_Snap out of it, Kingsmen!_

Ahead of the pair was the blue woman that had jumped the van, only... headless. That was likely thanks to Lance standing firmly at the front corner of the van, his shotgun still aimed and ready for another blast. For a man who didn’t get mixed up in the supernatural, he was just fine pulling his gun and trying to handle the problem that way. The odd woman lay motionless on the ground, bits of what looked like splintered wood scattered around her.

“It looks like uncle Lance has it covered,” Arthur mused aloud, looking the scene over.

Beside him, Lewis clenched his fist, “I wouldn’t be so sure. I faced her right before chasing after you and being headless didn’t stop her.”

Oh _great._ Huffing anxiously, the mechanic reached out to brace against the edge of the truck again, “So… so what do we do? And what _is_ she?”

“I…” Lewis trailed off, brows furrowing over glowing eyes as his mind turned, “I don’t know."

The wraith looked over his way, eyes falling to his chest. Vaguely, Arthur glanced down and realized he was still holding Lewis’ locket close. Truth be told, he’d nearly forgotten. It had turned into something of a quiet comfort that he hadn’t found odd holding it.

“We need to help,” Lewis broke in, pulling Arthur’s gaze to him. “Do you trust me?”

Without much hesitation, the mechanic gave a solid nod. Despite all the craziness that had happened, and the very real chance that Lewis may again at some point try and kill him, he trusted the ghost. With his whole heart.

* * *

Out of all the ways this night could have gone, not _one_ of the outcomes that had occurred were ones that Vivi had even _remotely_ expected. Sure, she’d anticipated going to a rest stop while sleeping, but not getting knocked out by her bat only to wake up by being dragged out of the van by her dog to face a _lady tree spirit._ Not only that, she’d hit the spirit! She’d _hit_ it! Spun its head like a child's top!

Well, that’s what she got for trying to hurt Vivi’s dog.

Dog, right, the _seven tailed kitsune_ that stood behind her. Because _that_ was normal. Vivi didn’t even know where to begin asking the questions, all she knew was she had a LOT and dear lord she was going to get some of them answered. At some point. Less talky, more stay-away-from-me-and-my-giant-dog.

The blast of the shotgun still faintly hung in the air by the time Vivi got her bearings again. Moments before, the woman had grown her shears to horrifying proportions and had been aiming to stab them down. In the same moment, she'd heard Mystery growl, and then growl _deeper_ than she'd ever heard before. His shadow fell over her as he snarled at the mysterious woman, taking one step by her shoulder in a protective stance. The very next instant, the teal tree woman was sent flying by the blast of a shotgun.

Shoving up onto her elbows, the girl rolled and lunged up to an uneven stand. She looked back toward the silhouette by the van, a squatter version of her best friend, and knew immediately despite the darkness. “Thanks for the backup, Lance! Be sure to keep a lookout for my dog!"

"Oh I'm looking alright," Lance boomed back, still poised to shoot -- thankfully only at the wooden lady, "but that ain't no dog!"

"Just trust me!"

Her attention quickly turned to the kitsune, who made eye contact with Vivi for a split second only to look away in uncertainty. Every one of his tails gave a distracted flick.

“Oh no,” Vivi chided, her heart racing as she glared at the beast, “You are _not_ getting out of this without giving me some answers, you hear me?”

The sight of Mystery flattening his ears very much confirmed that he had. Good. _That_ was getting discussed later.

Sound further ahead caught Vivi’s attention and the blue girl quickly looked up. From where she’d been blasted, the tree woman was slowly making it back into a stand. Ohhh that wasn’t good, that was _not_ good. Was she impervious to modern weapons then? How were they supposed to beat something like that?

From the hole in her neck, the woman sprouted another head with an irritated hiss. The creature shook her new head rapidly as she braced a hand against it, only to immediately glare vicious daggers back toward Vivi. _Nuts._

“Stay back,” the girl warned, remembering begrudgingly that her bat had been snapped out of her hands, “we don’t want any problems! Just leave us be!”

A chorus of wicked growling split the air, and it took a second for Vivi to realize that it had been the woman and Mystery _both_ making the aggressive sounds. Well that wasn't scary.

“ _Do as she says, Shiromori,_ ” the beast behind her spoke. Vivi stared wide eyed, mystified, as Mystery went on, “ _Our pact is history. Leave it as such!”_

_Oh my god, my dog just spoke._

The woman, Shiromori, bared her surprisingly sharp teeth in rage, “You stupid mutt! You can never erase history!”

A fist flashed over the ground as she grabbed the shears that had been knocked from her grasp. With a sickening _snap,_ Shiromori's wild eyes turned back on them, "I will _end_ this illegitimate pact of yours and take _you_ for myself again, fox!"

Illegitimate pact? The questions just kept building up, but as confusing and terrifying as this was, it was also _cool beyond belief._ First things first though: Shiromori had to be stopped. Vivi had no plans on dying today, or letting her apparently ancient not-dog do the same. Action first, questions later, especially if the one spouting information was wielding a giant pair of scissors they wanted to use for murder. 

Shiromori roared, thrusting herself forward and bearing down on them with incredible speed. For a moment, Vivi stood trapped in her own surprise as time slowed down. Beside her, Mystery bared his teeth and started to take protective steps closer. In that very same moment, the air to her left exploded in a plume of warmth. Something soared through the air and just before Shiromori got too close enough, she was again blasted back. 

Not by a shotgun blast, but a pink fireball.

With wide eyes, Vivi stared as the tree spirit was knocked down again. What? Her head whipped around, looking for the source and gasping when she spotted it.

Two shapes were moving closer, darting over the lot on a wave of pink fire. Immediately she recognized the wraith that had been hunting them in the mansion an hour or so before. What surprised her the most was that _Arthur_ was held in his arms, looking only slightly off put instead of completely terrified. What had been going on while she was incapacitated and distracted?

With casual grace, the ghost landed a few feet from Vivi and tilted his arms to let Arthur down. Her mechanic friend carefully clambered to his spot, shuddering, and another thing Vivi noticed was that he was holding the golden heart the ghost had possessed. The very same he had tried to give to her.

"Uhhh," Vivi trailed, looking between them, "mind telling me what's going on?"

The ghost looked up, almost seeming to want to speak but unable to find his voice. Did he even have a voice? Arthur took the moment instead, laughing nervously and reaching back to rub his neck, "Long story! He's on our side now, I'll explain later."

Furrowing her brows, Vivi looked between the two some more, eyes darting. At the manor, the ghost had been _very_ intent on hurting Arthur… but not her. She figured her friend had pissed him off in some way or that there might have been something deeper from the ghost’s living past to target him. Regardless, the thing she least expected was to see that very ghost carrying her friend with ease and without a hint of aggression. _I didn't know ghosts had that much power to interact_. When would the surprises that night stop? Who knew.

Finally she huffed a smirk, raising a brow. Well, they could use the extra _literal_ firepower.

"Alright, fine," Vivi tutted, "but you _owe me_ an explanation! You've been holding back on me, I didn't know you were a ghost whisperer."

Arthur shrugged, laughing a little more, "Well…"

"Chloe _really_ can't know about this now," Vivi went on to laugh.

"Wh--" Arthur paused, a pink shade taking over his face, "He's not my boyfriend, Viv!"

" _She's recuperating,"_ Mystery cut in, his head lowered and a snarl directed toward the tree spirit ahead. Vivi snapped her attention around, watching as the charred woman tried to get her bearings.

"D-did Mystery just talk?" Arthur blurted in surprise. From the corner of her eye, he seemed to step closer to the well dressed wraith. Ah, right. With Arthur already being afraid of Mystery, this surely didn’t help the matter at _all_. 

Waving her hand quickly, Vivi huffed, "Yeah! We'll have circle time for stories when we're _not_ in danger."

Danger, _crap_ , aside from Mystery guarding her she was defenseless. Looking around quickly, Vivi noticed the bat laying behind her and dove to scoop it up. She bounced back into place, adjusting her feet and holding it at the ready as if to swing for a home run.

"Okay! Now I'm ready."

Mystery took up position beside her, still at an angle where he could put himself in the middle if need be. Arthur and the ghost stepped closer, with her mechanic friend remaining nervous but the wraith _determined_. As she spared a glance at the gathering, a feeling welled up in Vivi's chest. She couldn't tell if it was pride, comfort, or… familiarity.

With bared teeth of annoyance, Shiromori got up to her feet. The bark along most of her face was charred black, flaking off slowly to reveal a softer blue. Her inconvenienced scowl quickly turned into surprise as she beheld the gathering, looking increasingly frustrated at more allies.

Clenching her fist, the tree spirit hissed, "I will not be stopped by you again! This will end tonight!"

Shiromori sharply pulled her arms to her sides and clicked her legs together. With a growl, her shape vanished into the earth, marked only by disturbed dirt darting toward them that vanished seconds later.

" _She's doing a sneak attack,"_ Mystery warned as he stepped ahead of Vivi, " _stay alert!"_

Around her, Vivi’s friends slowly drew closer to one another, watching the ground for any turning soil as their backs faced one another. Huffing in exasperation, Vivi spared her dog a glance, "Is there anyway to actually beat her? She took a gunshot and a fireball but it barely did anything but inconvenience her!"

" _Your ancestor nearly destroyed her centuries ago,"_ Mystery said, eyeing the ground with swiveling ears, " _but Mushi spared her, if barely. Her ice powers tore Shiromori apart._ "

"So ice will destroy wood but fire won't," Arthur said anxiously with a laugh, "sounds a little backwards but okay!"

" _She's not purely wood._ _Besides, both can be used,"_ Mystery corrected with a glance and a flick of his tails, " _ice to decimate and fire to make sure she never comes back once she’s in scraps."_

While a frown made its way onto her face, Vivi glanced at the kitsune, "Where are we going to get ice magic from exactly?"

Returning the look, the fox ventured, " _Trying to work that out. You have Mushi's power within you, it's likely just dormant from generations of being untapped."_

Wait, so... she had centuries old _ice magic?_ That would be _so cool_ if their lives didn't possibly depend on her ability to try and conjure it. Vivi was all for the supernatural world but never thought she herself was part of it. Maybe she should have expected otherwise.

"Do we even know who that tree woman is," Arthur went on. “She just came out of nowhere while I was driving! You said Vivi’s ancestor faced her?”

With flattening ears, Mystery sighed roughly, " _She's… my mistake."_

The very ground exploded before Vivi could fully digest that heavy answer. Her attention immediately snapped to the figure erupting from the ground behind her and she swung her arms to compensate for the movement. The strike struck true, hitting Shiromori in the shoulder to unbalance her and knock off her attack for a moment. Mystery had whirled with Vivi to face the spirit, and he gave a vicious snap of his jaws as a threat.

From the other side, the pink ghost slugged a flaming punch into the woman’s still flaking head and sent her stumbling further away. Maybe if they just beat her up enough she'd go away? Unlikely; Shiromori seemed pretty determined, and even after the two hits in succession she regained her balance and came back for more.

A dash of white zipped from her side and with a graceful swing, Mystery swiveled on his paws and slammed the girth of his tails into the tree spirit. With a screech, the woman went sailing into the side of the shop, leaving an imprint in the side with a _crunch._ She could already feel Arthur’s anxiety about the shop from her spot.

With a dismayed grimace, Vivi watched as the woman once again started to get her bearings, lookout increasingly fed up each time. She wasn't the only one to notice.

"Is there anyway we can, yknow," Arthur wheezed, looking between Vivi and the fox, "trigger the ice powers or something? I don't know how much longer she's going to let us slap her around like a pinball."

Ears flattening, Mystery kept his stare on the tree woman, " _I don't know. The best I can think of is some sort of... sight memory correlation but if this fight isn't doing it, I don't know what will."_

Frowning, Arthur turned his gaze firmly on Vivi, "Are you getting anything?"

Vivi took a quick second to reflect. What was she supposed to feel? The only familiar thing had been them all standing together. She didn't feel cold, or some sort of powerful intent buzzing in her chest, or whatever she thought may entail her coming into those abilities. With her own frown, the blue girl shook her head, "I… don't think so. I'm sorry guys, I've never tried anything like this before."

A bloom of pink fire surged forward, blocking another attack from Shiromori and sending her back into the building as she screamed in anger.

Wincing, Arthur hid further behind the ghost responsible, "W-what if we somehow remade the battlefield? The one ancient Vivi and Shirosomething fought in before?"

Mystery looked thoughtful in his stare at the dazed spirit, only to turn a puzzled look at the mechanic, " _I… imagine that would up our chances, but how? It was in Japan, and it looked nothing like this_."

Immediately Arthur laid his free hand on the back of the ghost's arm. The wraith turned a curious look down at him and the blond boy went on, "Just how good are your illusion powers?"

_"Illusion?"_ Mystery echoed, raising his head and tilting his ears toward them, " _That's it! Let me influence those powers with my own. I have an idea_."

A little caught off guard, the ghost nodded and threw his hand out toward the semi truck parked further away. The very air from his hand rippled, and like throwing a stone in water, the opening of the truck gained that same ripple and wavered into an ominous black. _...Woah_. 

"It's all yours," the formal ghost said, and Vivi realized with a jolt that it had been the first time he'd spoken. Had he talked at all at the mansion? She _swore_ she recognized it…

" _Excellent,"_ Mystery cut into her thoughts. Turning to Vivi, he lowered his head toward her urgently, eyes searching her own, " _Do you trust me?_ "

While her hand was hesitant, it was only a second later that she laid it upon his forehead, "Maybe against my better judgement since I thought you were a _dog_ , but I don't think I have a choice."

Mystery gave an apologetic smile, tilting his head into her hand. All at once, Vivi realized that even if he looked different now, Mystery _was_ her dog. Her companion. A dog she had always trusted, that had always been by her side through thick and thin. He may have had a hidden past and identity, but she knew he meant her no harm in that touch and familiar expression. 

" _I swear I'll explain later,"_ he vowed, " _but when our lives aren't endangered."_

"Circle time," she reminded the kitsune with a determined smile.

Smirking lightly, Mystery nodded in promise. He raised his head, turning his back to her with a jerk of his snout as he crouched. Turning to the other two, he said quickly, " _Let her follow us. As long as you don't try and stop her, she'll zero in on Vivi and I."_

Practically star eyed despite her nerves, Vivi hauled herself onto the kitsune's back and adjusted her position. She grabbed a fist full of his mane and clutched her bat tight, leaning down close to hopefully have a better chance of staying on. _Oh my god I'm riding a kitsune, I'm riding a freaking kitsune into battle!_

When he felt her adjust, Mystery rose into a stand. Vivi clutched her legs tighter around him, trying not to crush his ribs but _definitely_ not keen on falling off. The two shared a silent glance and a nod of unison, and before Vivi could second guess her decision, Mystery sprang forward a few bounds.

" _Hey, Shiromori,"_ he taunted, gaining the enraged spirit's attention as he waved his tails, " _Let's have a fair fight!"_

Vivi didn't even have the chance to see her face before the world around her rushed by. She _did_ hear the screech of anger though, the sound sending a spark of fear in her chest. Instead, Vivi turned her gaze toward the truck they zoomed towards. The rippling surface grew closer and closer with each bound, and with a final step, Vivi felt Mystery bunch up and shoot them through the agitated, magical surface.

* * *

With a warping of light, the tips of Mystery's tails disappeared and Vivi along with him into whatever magical concoction the van had yielded. Arthur stared nervously, unsure about the situation. He quietly yelped, stepping further behind Lewis as the tree spirit raced by ahead of them. Like the kitsune had predicted, her sights had immediately set on the duo and she made a beeline to chase after them.

As soon as she was gone, Arthur let out a shaky breath. He pressed the locket closer to his chest, faintly aware of its phantom beats to help calm his own racing heart. A gentle hand laid on his upper back. 

Sighing quietly, the mechanic murmured, "Do you think they'll be alright?"

"I do," Lewis responded softly, "Vivi's a strong girl. She might have ice from what Mystery says, but she has fire and spark. She won't go down easily."

With a nod, Arthur let his shoulders slowly relax, "Y-you're right, you're right. She's one of the strongest people I know. And with Mystery being… _whatever_ he is, she has help."

At his side, Lewis gave an affirming nod. The wraith tilted his skull toward Arthur, and a certain squinting of his sockets made the mechanic think he was trying to smile. Arthur managed a tiny, grateful one back.

As terrified as he was, a part of him _did_ want to pursue to make sure Vivi was alright. It had taken three of them to toss Shiromori around, how did they plan to do it with just two now? _Ice powers, hopefully. God Vivi, please be careful._

"Arthur?"

The boy blinked. Sucking in a breath, Arthur turned his gaze searchingly until they landed on the source of the voice. _Uncle Lance_. The squatter man had ducked behind the van which he peered around, taking a step around with his gun lowered. His face was contorted in worry and confusion, looking toward his nephew and likely at the ghostly being at his side.

"Would _someone_ kindly tell me," the older man wheezed in exasperation, " _what the hell_ is going on?"


	20. Saving My World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _At least there's always (music)  
>  For the good times (music)  
> For the bad times (music)  
> When you're in love (music)  
> When it's over (music)_  
> M u s i c
> 
> Speaking of music, [here's the music I listened to while writing if you want some reading tunes!](https://youtu.be/FzsK8cGoQoU)

The moment they broke the surface of the portal, the very air around Vivi changed. Sound diluted as if she were submerged under water, and all around there was a heavy thickness to the air. She could breathe, but every breath sounded loud and echoed in her ears as her mind tried to adjust to the magic surrounding her. _She was surrounded by magic, holy shit!_ Beneath her, she could feel and see Mystery still running through the blackness. As he did, Vivi tightened her grip on his fur and squinted over his bobbing head.

Sparks of color began to illuminate around her, white and blue in color. Vivi peered over the kitsune’s mane, beholding with widening eyes as the sparks grew larger, taking shape, and budding into an extended image. Trees of blue wood and white crown sprouted from the blackness of the earth, christening against an orange expanse that drizzled into reality above them. Soon enough the only black that remained were the distant shadows beyond the boughs of trees, and even as Vivi faintly remembered they were inside an illusion, her breath turned into a gentle fog beyond her lips.

It was _beautiful._ But it was also _deadly._ All around, there were scatterings of evidence from past fights. Sword blades buried in the ground, ancient helmets overgrown by roots of trees, and trampled pieces of armor that had become one with the earth in some way or another. Illusion or not, Vivi could have been easily convinced this place was _real_ from the dedication of detail alone. She was mesmerized.

Something about the place stirred something in her chest. At first it was wonder at such a surreal, forgotten sight, a place she would love to personally visit. It warped into a cooler feeling, one of grief and anger she couldn't describe. There had been so much carnage here, overshadowed by the beauty of the forest but not hidden. 

No, not hidden. _Consumed_.

"You did all of this by memory?" Vivi asked, realizing the kitsune had slowed. Beneath her, the beast that had once been her dog came to a stop, panting gently from the run. He nodded once, eyes traveling around and searching. Waiting.

" _I used to live here for decades_ ," he explained, " _even if centuries have passed, my memory hasn't faded."_

Carefully, Vivi slipped off the creature's back, keeping a hand loosely in his fur. The detail to the place was so amazing. She doubted she'd be able to find a flaw if she tried. Amused, Vivi huffed, "I know some people who'd kill for that kind of memory."

Whatever Mystery's response had been was lost to the girl. As she stared at the trees, a realization slowly started to dawn on her. While the forest was beautiful, it was _familiar_ . Not in the sense that she had been here before, or maybe it was in some way, but that she _knew_ these colors. They were exotic, unique, and all at once it made sense. With a sharp, quick gasp, Vivi's eyes widened.

"The trees," she breathed, "they… they look like--"

There was a flurry of movement, and a single moment passed in the quivering of a heartbeat. Just before Vivi could finish speaking, she caught moving color from the corner of her eye and ducked. Enlarged shears tore through the air where her head had been, and Vivi used the moment to sweep the bat at Shiromori's ankles. The tree spirit was on her metaphorical toes however and lunged backwards, a wicked, _elated_ grin on her face.

"You stupid mutt," Shiromori laughed in delight, "you wanted a fair fight and brought the whelp here? In _my_ domain? You just personally signed her death warrant!"

So she was right. The trees and Shiromori were the same. Vivi only prayed her mystical dog knew what he was doing. She adjusted her bat again, sliding her feet along the ground to hold up a defensive position. Vivi didn't rightly have a clue what she could do, but my god she would _try_ whatever it was. She had been a decent batter in grade school sports, Vivi only prayed the instincts came into use.

Ahead of her, Shiromori paused. Her stance tensed and her expression turned to one of cautious scrutiny as she eyed the girl up and down. Vivi kind of wished Shiromori had stayed cocky. It'd be easier to knock her down a peg that way.

"Yeah, about that," Vivi hummed, doing well to keep most of the quiver from her voice, "I don't plan on dying tonight. I've got friends who need me. So would you mind hurrying this up?"

A look of startled insult swept across Shiromori's face. Growling, the spirit threw out her unarmed hand-- toward Mystery. Roots the color of the trees slithered up and coiled around Mystery's paws, snapping him in place to the ground. The kitsune let out a surprised grunt and jerked at the bindings, only to hiss as they tightened. That… oh that wasn't good.

"That'll keep _you_ out of the way until we're through," Shiromori sneered. Her eyes snapped back to Vivi.

_Oh boy._ An angry screech split the air as Shiromori surged forward. Vivi barely had time to brace her bat, knocking the giant shears upward with the swing. Coming down from it, she angled the bat and slammed it into the spirit's side with gritted teeth. The sound that followed would usually be compared to a thick, old log splintering but instead made Vivi internally wince.

With a surprised cry, Shiromori stumbled backward a few steps. She braced a hand over her side, crumpling slightly over the area as Vivi tried to quickly evaluate the situation. The tree lady hadn't reacted so physically to the bat before, she wondered what… then she saw it. Between the gaps of her fingers, there was a soft shimmering of light blue that glittered in the light. _Ice_.

So it was working? It was working! Vivi wasn't going to question it. All she hoped was that whatever was causing the power to awaken, it would keep up. She had to get Mystery out of here and make sure Arthur was safe back in reality. Vivi couldn't lose.

From behind her, she heard the kitsune whisper in triumph, _"Yes!"_

Growling in response, Shiromori clawed her fingers and raised her hand in a sharp motion. The ground around Vivi buckled and the girl yelped, barely registering as blue vines jolted up and wrapped around her wrists and ankles in a tightening squeeze. _Not good, not good! Crap!_

"Now," Shiromori snarled, " _stay still!"_

The tree spirit started to advance and as she did, Vivi did _not_ stay still. She jerked at the bindings, writhing in place to try and break free as her appendages grew cold. If Mystery, a _mystical beast_ , was held captive by the same thing, how did she expect to break free? No, no, she had to try! Her friends depended on it, she couldn't let anyone else get hurt by this enraged spirit. She _had_ to survive for Mystery, for Arthur. She had to help find Lewis. Her friends _needed_ her.

At the last second, Vivi ducked deeply from a vicious swing of shears and felt one of the holding pressures around her wrist snap. A surprised glance showed the plant had _shattered_ , the surface glittering in the faux sunset. That was it!

Passing the bat quickly to her freed hand, Vivi swung the weapon toward the aghast spirit to fend her off. As Shiromori took those few surprised steps back, Vivi knocked the bat against each limb and stumbled free from the viney grasp, huffing in triumph. _Okay, no more waiting for her to play dirty!_

Vivi gripped the bat with both hands and raised it above her shoulder. With a determined shout, the blue girl lunged forward and _swung_ . To her credit, Shiromori moved beyond her panic and braced the shears upward. The weapons locked with a reverberating metallic _clang_ and each woman held their ground, feet firmly planted to stop the others advance. Vivi gritted her teeth, her arms straining to try and overpower the tree spirit. This was insane!

"Give up, girl," Shiromori hissed on the other side of their crossed weapons, "you can't hope to beat me!"

While that _sounded_ reasonable, considering this was some ancient tree spirit up against a relatively average human girl, Vivi wasn't the type of person to accept things at face value. Maybe she _should_ be losing, but so far she was still holding her own, and that was enough for Vivi. Until she was battered and broken, she would keep standing. Besides, when would she ever get another chance like _this?_ The entire night was the find of the century for paranormal and magical phenomena! 

Truth be told, if her friends' lives weren't at stake, she probably wouldn't mind getting beat up by some mystical creature… How _cool_ would those bragging rights be?

_“Vivi,”_ came a shout from behind. Clenching her jaw, Vivi barely managed to keep herself from looking back as she continued to hold her stance, “ _play dead!_ ”

Startled, the blue girl raised her brows. Play--? Oh. 

_If you say so…!_ Biting her lip, Vivi shoved all her weight into the shears to knock them to the side. While doing so, she braced herself and hit the ground with a grunt, drawing the bat close to her chest. Above, Shiromori gathered her fumbled balance back and looked down at her smaller adversary with angry confusion. The spirit turned the same look toward Mystery, only for her expression to fall and get blasted by a bright blue flash of light in the face seconds later. The force of impact blew her back a step, sending Shirmori to the ground with a screech and making her drop her shears. Eyes wide, Vivi looked over toward the bound kitsune and felt her heart jump. 

Mystery stood tall as his eyes glowed a bright red, all seven tails raised and pointed toward them like a scorpion. All of his tail tips but one glowed a bright bluish white, sparking and ready to fire again. The very air around him crackled, but not with electricity, but raw _power_. Vivi was absolutely mystified.

While Shiromori was down, the kitsune aimed four of his tails immediately downward and shot simultaneously, scorching the roots around his paws and freeing him from the spirit’s grasp. Two tail tips still aglow, Mystery turned and bound toward the blue girl. He scooped his muzzle under her shoulder, easing Vivi up as the tree spirit tried to recover. 

“I have,” Vivi breathed as she braced against him, "the _coolest_ dog in the world.”

Mystery smiled at that, his glowing eyes settling back to normal as he raised an amused but kind brow her way. He turned his attention back to the threat ahead seconds later, tails flicking back into position. Vivi did the same after scrubbing the kitsune's mane affectionately, lifting the bat back to an attack stance. 

" _It's over, Shiromori_ ," Mystery announced as he stood proudly, " _Our feud ends. Leave the Yukinos and myself alone."_

Teeth bared angrily through charred, flaking bark as Shiromori glared venomous daggers at the duo. She spat to the side, a substance that looked like… sap? Interesting. As she reached for the shears, a zap of that blue white fire shot at her hand. Shiromori shrieked and drew the hand to her chest, leaving Mystery the chance to knock the giant weapon further away with his tails. He stomped a paw where they'd been, holding his proud stance to block her from pursuing them.

"No," the spirit raged, eyes darting between them, "Our feud _isn't_ over! It'll never be over until you're _mine!"_

"Look," Vivi interjected, lowering the bat slightly as her brows furrowed, "I won't even pretend to know what happened between you two. But what I _do_ know is you're trying to hurt him, and then tried to hurt _me_ when the only way I'm even involved is through some blood relative centuries ago."

Huffing, Vivi planted a hand on her hip as her fingers curled tighter around the bat. Just in case. Shiromori looked absolutely insulted by her speech, so there was no telling what the spirit would do.

"If you ask me," the girl continued, "you should _really_ let it go."

Shiromori spat, "Let it _go?"_

Clenching her fists, the woman tried to stand, only to be met by a growl from the kitsune near her side. Shiromori sneered at him, whirling that angry stare back at Vivi, "You don't know anything! You _dare_ tell me to let it go when you're just an ignorant insect!"

"Hey," Vivi chimed, twirling her bat, "insulting is _rude_ and will get you nowhere. Except maybe shattered into ice bits!"

God, Vivi prayed that wasn't a bluff. 

"You think you can destroy _me_ ," Shiromori all but laughed, "your power is nothing compared to mine!"

"Pretty big words for someone who's been tossed around like a sack of potatoes," Vivi observed, pursing her lips, "give up and I'll think of letting ya go back to whatever reality you came from."

" _Vivi,"_ Mystery warned, flattening his ears.

"You little _brat_ ," the spirit snarled, hunger sparking in her eyes, "This ends now!"

Before Mystery could react, there was a blur of teal that surged through the air towards her. Breathless, Vivi found herself on her back and her world spinning. As everything began to sink back into focus, it blurred out just as quickly in cloudy patches. Shiromori’s snarling visage was all Vivi could see, and her breathing was tight, restricted-- she was _choking._

And Shiromori was responsible. Vivi had to act fast. Her hands flew upward, clawing desperately at the vice grip that surrounded her neck. Not good, not good, she couldn't budge them! Spots flickered in and out of her vision, growing bigger as her desperation for air increased. The corners of her world were blackening, she was about to--

Vivi gasped. She gasped and she hacked and it was only for a few seconds before those hands returned. What had-- Shiromori's face, it was smoking on one half as she grimaced. Mystery had blasted her again to buy Vivi time to breathe. Vivi couldn't waste it, but how-- how…

It hit her like a ton of bricks. Her hands dropped from around the tough ones, desperately searching for-- _there_. Vivi took her bat as firmly as her strength allowed around the thicker end, the spots returning to her vision, and she angled her grip as best she could without really being able to see it. With a choking gag, Vivi shoved upward with all her might--

Then was met with the crunching sound of tree bark splitting. 

The grip around her throat loosened as Shiromori's face fell into one of shock. As Vivi gasped again and started coughing violently, she watched the spirit's eyes slowly turn to the bat splintering through her torso. Vivi had shoved it right through where one's rib cage would be, the metal buried through and sticking out her back. Behind the impaled woman, Mystery stumbled back panting with bloodied teeth and gums. 

He had been trying to pry Shiromori off.

"What have you..." the spirit wavered, arms shaking as she beheld the bat in its resting place.

"That," Vivi wheezed hoarsely, rubbing her throat. She backed up, kicking her legs to scoot away from the woman, "is for... my _friends."_

As if through some silent command, a bright light filtered through the splintered hole. The spirit sucked in a breath, shrieking in panic as the light spread into brilliant blue crystals from the opening. They darted over the bark of her skin, crystallizing and holding her in place wherever they landed. Her hands were frozen in a clawing motion, having been stopped mere inches from the thickness of the bat.

"No," Shiromori shouted, " _no!"_

She jerked her head aimlessly, shuffling to stand only to falter as her legs began to freeze in a half crouch. Shiromori fell to the side with a heavy _thud_ , raging and spitting insults until the ice took the last of her. In the sharp cutting of sudden silence, her face was frozen into that of a gaping snarl and eyes angled up at the dusty sky.

For a moment, all was still. Vivi managed to breathe normally again despite the soreness of her throat, and past the frozen spirit stood Mystery, his own heaving breath somehow quiet. The kitsune moved slowly, dipping his muzzle near Shiromori's neck and sniffing. As he did, Vivi drew her legs closer and stared in stunned wonder.

She had done that. Vivi had _done_ that.

"Please don't tell me I just ice boxed some otherwise innocent raging ex of yours," the girl coughed, looking up at the kitsune.

Mystery faltered into a smirk, shaking his head as he stood back up, " _No. Her existence was a miserable one and it's my fault, but she would never have stopped."_

"Story time is looking mighty nice about now," Vivi rasped heavily.

Nodding, Mystery padded over and nudged his muzzle under her arm. With the kitsune's help, Vivi hoisted herself back up into a stand. Stepping almost cautiously forward, the girl laid a gentle hand on the blunt flat head of the bat. It was cold, but not agonizingly. Almost like it had been left outside overnight in the fall.

With a tight frown, Vivi wrapped her hands around the bat and tugged. It only made a slight scraping noise at first and the girl sighed in exasperation. Planting a foot on a frozen hip, Vivi braced and gave another, heartier tug. Snaps and cracks were heard as she stumbled backwards, thudding against something soft abruptly. A quick glance told her Mystery had stepped up to cushion any fall, and Vivi quickly realized she had pulled the bat out.

The sound of cracking intensified and Vivi looked toward the frozen spirit in slight concern. Tiny canyons broke out all across the ice, splintering and spider webbing in every direction. Part of Vivi worried Shiromori would break free, but that thought was smothered as the ice began to fall apart -- with chunks of tree embedded in the ice. 

After a minute of cracking and breaking, before the duo laid a patch of rubble made of ice and bark. Shiromori likely wouldn't recover from _that._

"Do you need to, y'know," Vivi said quickly, waving her bat vaguely as she stared at the ice, "use your tail power again?"

An amused sound like a laugh escaped the kitsune's throat as Mystery replied, " _No. I think she's chopped enough."_

Snorting, Vivi rolled her eyes but grinned, "Oh, my god. My dog is a punner. I should have known."

Mystery's grin only widened, and it occurred to Vivi _just_ how foxish he really was. As she smirked, the girl knew she should have suspected something before. Oh well, kitsune or not, Mystery was still her companion. 

“About that, actually,” Vivi hummed, sparing the beast a glance, “since you’re not really a _dog…_ does us calling you one offend you?”

A twitch passed through the kitsune’s ears and he turned a calmer version of a smirk her way, “ _Normally my answer would be yes, but for you guys, no.”_

Shifting her weight from foot to foot, Vivi ventured, “Okay, then what about your name? You’ve always been Mystery to me, but you’re hundreds of years old! Is there something else I should call you?”

“ _As far as I’m concerned,”_ the kitsune said honestly with a flick of his tails, “ _my name was Mystery the moment you named me, Vivi.”_


	21. If We Could Just Find A Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Could've followed me  
>  Followed me in the darkness  
> Followed me 'til the world ends  
> Followed me 'til there's nothing left, so take my hand_  
> L i v e F o r e v e r

The surface of the portal gave a shiver, catching the mechanic's eye. He sat upright and stared, gaining silence from the other two as he watched the back of the truck intently. After spotting Lance, Arthur and Lewis had made their way over to him. The squatter gentlemen had to be eased down at the sight of the wraith coming closer, but wearily accepted his presence thanks to his normally skittish nephew not being afraid. Plus, he’d also seen the ghost fighting on their side, so that helped. A little awkwardly and not without uncertainty, Arthur explained that the ghost was his missing friend they’d been searching for. Lance wasn’t sure what to make of the whole situation, but he flanked one of Arthur’s sides while Lewis remained by the other. 

They had been idly talking when the magic shifted. Arthur’s heart raced in anticipation, holding his breath in hope and fear alike. Would it be his friend coming back? The enraged tree woman? Further away, the magic shivered again, rippled, and like fog under the sun, dissolved away before his eyes. 

In its wake, it revealed a disheveled Vivi standing at the kitsune they'd called Mystery's shoulder. 

Arthur didn't waste a moment. He lunged up from the ground, racing over to the truck as the duo hopped down. The second Vivi's shoes hit the ground, Arthur threw his arms around her and pulled Vivi into the tightest hug of his life. He heard her wheeze out a breath of surprise, but for just that moment he didn't care.

Vivi was safe. Vivi was _safe._

"Oh thank _god_ ," Arthur shuddered, pressing his face into her shoulder, "I was so worried about you!"

A strained laugh convinced him to loosen his grip just a little, and he was met by a returned pressure of Vivi hugging him back, "What, have that little faith in me?"

Withdrawing, Arthur held the girl at arms length and huffed in exasperation. Still, he couldn't help a small, relieved smile, "No, but taking on a tree entity isn't exactly like dealing with an irritable poltergeist."

"Okay," Vivi laughed out weakly, "fair enough, you got me."

With a frown, Arthur glanced over her shoulder, "Speaking of--"

"We got her," Vivi interjected, raising a hand to pat his metal arm, "don't worry. She won't be coming back to pester us again."

A weight lifted from Arthur's shoulders at her words and the mechanic let out a relieved, deep sigh. No more angry Lewis, no more Shiromori, and _so far_ Mystery wasn't eyeing him like a chew toy, so… they were safe. After the craziest few hours of his life, they were safe. Arthur had almost forgotten the meaning of the word.

"Now," Vivi announced, regaining his attention, "we have some things to discuss."

Right. Arthur's chest tightened. Right…

Frowning tightly, the mechanic nodded solemnly. Everything all came down to this moment. If Vivi regained her memories… Arthur had no idea how she’d react. He had been so scared for months that she'd wind up hating him, she'd accuse him of lying, _something_ that would strain their friendship to the near breaking point. Arthur had no idea how to deal with that outcome, and honestly after the events that evening, he wasn't sure he had the emotional strength either.

Regardless, Vivi deserved to know. There was no more hiding.

Arthur turned, lifting his gaze up to the others he'd dashed away from. Lance was eyeing Mystery suspiciously, while Lewis… looked like he had wanted to do just what the mechanic had done. The wraith's sockets were wide, darting over Vivi, and the flicker of his flame betrayed his anxious desires. He'd been worried too, but didn't have the personal status anymore to join the two in a hug. _Not yet. I promise Lew, soon._

The trio moved to rejoin Lance and Lewis, and Arthur took up his spot between them again. Vivi sat across from him, and across from Lewis sat the kitsune. There was a moment of quiet as the group tried to take each other in, the air thick with unasked questions and worries for the answers given. They all knew that after the events of the night, nothing would ever be the same between them.

"So," Vivi began, breaking the silence. All eyes turned to her as everyone zeroed in, "What are we discussing first?"

"I'd like to know how your little yapper turned into a character out of a comic book," Lance pitched in, his arms crossed over his belly. "Normally I'd want nothing to do with all this, but I need to know if my nephew is in further danger by hanging out with you. No offense."

"None taken, and totally understandable," Vivi sympathized, turning a glance to Mystery, "I wanna know too."

After a reluctant nod from Arthur and Lewis in agreement, all eyes turned to the sitting kitsune. Mystery's ears slowly slanted back as he gauged each stare then finally succumbed with a quiet huff. The mechanic was relieved the story about Lewis wasn't first. He could hold onto that friendship for a little bit longer.

" _Very well,"_ the fox sighed out, slipping down into a lying position. He crossed his front paws and kept those keen eyes of his down, and Arthur watched a distant look overtake the creature, " _I come from Japan, where Vivi's father hails from. Centuries ago, before humanity had civilized itself more, I too lacked civility. It's a kitsune's nature to cause mischief, to trick, and I wasn't free of that. In fact, I gave in frequently, enough that by human terms I would seem cruel. I hate to admit that cruel could be an understatement."_

Mystery glanced up, taking in the silent, rapt stares before continuing, " _Back when this all began, I had gained the ultimate goal of the kitsune: I had nine tails."_ Mystery took a moment to wave each of his seven tails then, _"But even with all my power, knowledge, and status, I was bored. I'm sure you know being incredibly powerful and bored isn't usually a good combination."_

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely," Vivi added at his side.

The kitsune nodded, " _You're right. And because I had that power and boredom, I acted foolishly. I heard a legend spreading around that a blood offering to a certain sapling would bind it to you forever and do your bidding. Being the bored and careless creature I was, I sought it out."_

"You sought out a _blood offering_ story?" Vivi blurted in disbelief.

Flicking only one ear forward, Mystery nodded, " _I told you, I was bored. Bored and arrogant and in need of_ something _to entertain myself. So I found a sapling, an innocent looking red flower, and gave her an offering of my blood. At first, nothing happened. I was disappointed but knew it could have just been a story to scare children, so I left it alone."_

Huffing quietly, Mystery adopted a faraway look, " _The next morning I noticed the sapling outside of a burrow I used. I could still smell it. An idea struck me then, and I started to lure samurai and other helpless victims into the woods. I would fight them, and just before ending them, roots would attack and drain them of their blood."_

"Oh dear god," Vivi groaned, lifting a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, "you created a yōkai, a _jubokko yōkai_ of all things." 

A yōkai? Mystery had fostered an actual tree spirit into a demon? Arthur wasn't sure whether to be impressed or unnerved, but the latter was winning.

There was a deep frown on the kitsune's face as he nodded, " _I_ _became invested. Amused. Finally, some entertainment just to watch that little tree attack hapless victims. It went on for… twenty years. The tree grew taller, and so did the body count. I soon used that tree as a perch, knowing that all that tree wanted was to serve me. I named her Shiromori, and eventually the forest was known as that. But my arrogance cost me."_

Mystery lifted his gaze to settle on Vivi, " _Word spread of the nefarious fox that would lead victims to death in the trees, never to be seen again. Your ancestor, Mushi, made it her personal goal to end what was becoming a legend. When she found me, I scoffed and grinned at her foolishness. A mere human girl taking on a fully tailed kitsune and his yōkai? She was crazy."_

"That sounds like a family trait," Arthur remarked. A soft laugh from his friends and family broke the tension of the story and the mechanic couldn't help but chuckle along. Even Mystery grinned humorously at that. 

" _But a trait that would serve her,"_ Mystery continued, his expressions sobering a little, " _It was her persistence and drive that overturned my arrogance. Shiromori tried to help at first, but Mushi sliced through all of her roots and traps. Eventually Mushi got to me, and it didn't take long for me to realize that my inflated ego had softened me. The thought enraged me and I fought even harder, but in the end it wasn't enough. She took seven of my tails before I surrendered, scared she'd get my real one and kill me."_

Silence gripped the gathering as they listened wide eyed, and Arthur swore they'd all held their breath for more. Of course, Mystery obliged, " _That's how the Shiromori as you know her was born. She uprooted, driven by vengeance to uphold her master's will, but even she couldn't defeat Mushi in her prime. I begged Mushi to let Shiromori live, and in response she froze her -- much like you did, Vivi. And just like that, it was over.”_

At the kitsune’s side, Vivi looked mystified. Surely an ancestor that interesting only inspired her for her more paranormal and magic work, “So how did you end up tied to our family?”

 _"Because of the carnage I had caused and subsequently begging for my life, Mushi ordered me to remain as a companion for the Yukino's. Forced to act as a pet for humanity, she thought it would be a reasonable punishment to humble me."_ Mystery flattened his ears, _"At first, I hated Mushi and her entire family. I loathed what she forced me to do, to act as a dog at their heels and made to protect them. I was down to two tails and hardly any presence left, so I was powerless except to obey.”_

A part of Mystery's expression had hardened. As he continued, however, it started to soften, " _It took me a few generations before my bitterness and humiliation dulled down. Soon the story of owning a kitsune faded into family folklore, only made stronger by the fact the family always had a white dog somehow. I began to accept my place and my punishment, and I even found myself genuinely caring about some of the descendants. It would only happen once every other generation or so at first, but someone would be born and the human seemed… to genuinely love and care for me. I wasn't sure how to feel about it at first, even after the love I'd gotten for centuries being the family dog, but it always startled me when a particular person would latch onto me."_

His eyes turned to Vivi, _"In the end, I accepted my role because of the love I was given by those descendants. This last time, it was you, Vivi."_

"I always knew you were special when we found you," Vivi mused quietly, her hands folded in her lap, "but I never considered _why_. And I guess we didn't find you -- you just inserted yourself back into the role."

With a nod, Mystery added, " _I was bound to your father for several years, but your grandmother didn't want to move with a dog to America. She was also extremely suspicious of me, even when I used to be hers too. I traveled anyway, secretly, waiting for the next generation to come and to pick my place back up again."_

Frowning, Vivi lifted a hand and hovered it near his head, "I'm sorry if you've felt obliged to stay at my side all this time. I never wanted a friendship or a companion that was forced. I just genuinely thought you were the cleverest dog I knew."

At her gesture, Mystery tilted his head into her hand to accept the touch and gave a small wave of his tails, " _The past is past, Vivi. Don't worry about my feelings. They aren't what they were centuries ago."_ Sparing a small grin, he added, _“I rather enjoy being around you crazy kids. It's been entertaining."_

Shifting his head out of the hand, Mystery’s eyes turned to the mechanic. Arthur felt a gut reaction to flinch but held it back, meeting those clever eyes -- and he knew just how clever they were now. Never before had he understood the gravity of their intellect until that moment.

 _“There is one more thing for me to add in this circle time,”_ Mystery confessed, _“but I think there’s another truth that needs to come out first.”_

Oh. All at once, Arthur felt his heart sink into his stomach. Was it time already? Surely there was another way they could put it off, he didn't know if he could… if he could take whatever disappointment and anger Vivi was bound to throw his way. But she _deserved_ to know, it was her _right_ to know. And Arthur had been in the wrong for denying it for so long.

Taking in a shaky breath, the mechanic gave a nod. His mouth was dry, tongue tired-- he had no idea how to even _start_ . It'd be tactless just to go, _ah yes, Vivi, this is Lewis, the friend we've been looking for who I also forgot to mention was your boyfriend. Oops!_ It's not like he could just spill everything out like he had to Lewis by…

Arthur blinked. He turned an unsure gaze the ghost's way, watching the wraith's own concerned eye. When their eyes met, Arthur raised a hand and motioned with a tired rasp, "Maybe it's best if you, y'know…"

Slightly confused, Lewis followed the hand motion down. His locket pulsed with its single nasty crack against his chest, and a mix of understanding and uncertainty fell over the ghost's face as his eyes turned back up, "Do you think it will…?"

"It did the other way around," Arthur reminded him with a sort of wary smile, "so it's worth a shot. And it saves us a bit of time if it works."

As if steeling himself, Lewis gave his own nod. He straightened up, delicately taking the heart off his chest and cradling it in one large hand. His eyes stayed glued to it for a moment before Lewis dared look up across at a watchful Vivi. Smoothly, the wraith extended the locket out toward her and leaned ever slightly forward, his voice soft and gentle, "Here. Hopefully this will explain things."

Vivi balanced a look of wonder and intrigue. No doubt she remembered this very same ghost making his offer once before in a more hostile environment, and now she had the chance to act without Arthur trying to drag her from a dangerous situation. As if to be sure, she shot her oldest friend a glance and the mechanic nodded with a nervous smile he _hoped_ only looked tired.

Like at the mansion, the locket gently hovered out of Lewis's hand and paused right in front of Vivi. The blue girl raised her hands slowly to cup around it, and only after her palms met the surface did she pause with the quietest gasp. There was a spark of purple from the locket that made both Arthur and Lewis jump in surprise, and then that spark leapt into Vivi's hands. Her eyes lit up, aglow with magenta light as her lips parted. At her side, Mystery had an ear back but watched intently as the girl sat stock still. They all did, Arthur knew. 

He wasn't sure what was happening, but Arthur could guess. The mechanic held his breath as he watched, desperately wishing to hold Lewis's hand for comfort. Even as his fingers twitched, he refrained. Now wasn't the time.

After a few silent, tense moments, the purple sparked away from Vivi's eyes and her shoulders fell with the tension. Back to normal, her eyes were wide and searching, as if trying to regather herself. Arthur realized it was the same look Lewis had had on his face back at the cave after the mechanic had touched the locket. Vivi lifted her gaze, mouth still agape as her quick, shaky breath rocked through her. And then, quietly, _meekly,_ as her eyes sparkled with gathering tears, "Lewis?"

There it was. Arthur felt a mix of relief, joy even, but that fear gripped his spine like a vice. He couldn't grin as wide as he wanted to, he couldn't shake the tremble from his fidgeting hands. Arthur wanted to melt into the pavement before her eyes had the chance to fall back to him.

Thankfully her gaze was preoccupied. Across from her, Lewis brightened at the recognition and opened his arms. Vivi scrambled from her spot, throwing herself into his inviting embrace and clung on tight with a sound akin to both a laugh and a sob. Lewis curled around her, clutching her close as the couple clung to one another. Arthur meanwhile sat still, his smile tired and happy but still holding back a margin of fear. He wanted nothing more than to join that hug, but he also respected their privacy. They needed a moment, or five.

"Oh my god, Lewis, Lewis I can't believe it," Vivi's emotional and excited voice muffled into his shoulder, "I can't believe I _forgot!"_

"It's alright, Vivi," the wraith gently assured, stroking her hair tenderly, "it's alright."

"It's not," Vivi protested, shaking her head, "none of it is! But it's going to be!"

Vivi broke from the grip just a little, enough to look him in the face, then turned to look at Arthur. The mechanic felt his breath catch, frozen, only for Vivi to grab his vest and haul him closer. She pulled him haphazardly into the hug, holding both of her boys close as Arthur was left reeling. She wanted him near? She wasn't…

"You're both dummies," the book girl sniffled, squeezing them tighter, "but dang it you're _my_ dummies. I can't lose either of you. I love you both, okay?"

There was a pressure behind Arthur's eyes and his vision wavered. His smile widened, and the mechanic let out an emotional laugh before fully committing himself to the hug. He held Lewis and Vivi tightly to him, relishing the closeness of the three of them together. Lewis's arm wound around him, and he felt the less strong but just as intense pressure of Vivi's do the same. For the first time in two months, he felt some of that semblance of rightness again. The three of them together, holding one another, it was _right_. And nothing else in the world mattered beyond it.

For a few minutes, all three sat there holding each other, emotionally laughing and sniffling at the fact that they'd been reunited. When they finally pulled back to look at one another, Lewis had donned his human face to truly show how happy he was about it all too. For a split second, all of that fear melted under the light of both Vivi and Lewis's smiles.

"What all did you see," Lewis asked curiously, eyes on Vivi. She still held the locket, her thumb smoothing over it thoughtfully with the question.

"Our meeting," Vivi started, "all the way up until the fake cave. Everything got fuzzy there, and then…"

Her eyes turned to Arthur. Immediately, despite her gaze not asking for him to feel that way, the mechanic felt _shame_.

"Viv," Arthur stammered out, brows arching, "I, I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner. I was just, I was so _scared_ that you'd be--"

A gentle finger pressed to his lips, and Arthur blinked in surprise as he looked into the sad smile on Vivi's face, "I know. It's okay. I love you, okay Artie?"

Taking the hand gently from his face, Arthur gave it a gentle squeeze as his shoulders loosened, "I love you too, Viv."

Her smile lost a bit of the sadness, then Vivi looked to Lewis, "And I love you, Lewlew. Nothing could change that."

"Nothing," Lewis returned the promise. His gaze turned to Arthur after that, something about his eyes imploring him. Arthur felt his heart flutter. Lewis… meant that for him, too. 

Beyond them, someone cleared his throat. Arthur looked over his shoulder to see his uncle, scratching at his face scruff and keeping his eyes away. He looked up at them, his brows slightly furrowed, "Not to… break up the happiness or address the elephant in the room. But what are you going to do now?" Motioning a hand toward them, he added, "Specifically you, Lewis."

Oh. _Oh._ Arthur didn't think… right. Lewis had said he didn't _think_ he'd disappear because he couldn't kill Arthur, but his eyes still turned with quiet worry back to his friends. Vivi also looked unsure, sharing a glance with him before looking at Lewis herself. The waiter was... definitely dead. What _could_ they do?

"I…" Lewis trailed off, "I'm not sure. I want to stay with you guys, I want… I want to experience everything with you but…"

Vivi chipped in quietly as she flipped the locket between her palms, "But you're…"

Lewis nodded. None of them actually dared say it aloud. Instead, Vivi quietly handed Lewis’s locket back to him, her eyes trained on the surface. Arthur realized that the single crack that had been there before was now gone.

There was movement beside them and Arthur snapped his gaze up to look. Mystery had stood, and he padded that little bit closer to sit on the edge of their tight circle. He looked between them quietly, ears slanted, before murmuring, " _I might be able to help with that."_

"Help?" Lewis echoed, "how?"

" _I'll explain, but first,"_ the kitsune said, looking up to meet Arthur's eyes, " _I promised one more truth. Arthur, there's a sound reason you're afraid of me, and I'm… I can’t even begin to voice how sorry I am."_

Arthur wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or terrified in the face of his fears being confronted _again_ . Regardless, Mystery continued with all eyes on him, " _As I'm sure you've all managed to put together thanks to a combination of memories, Arthur was possessed in the cave. The entire place gave me a bad vibe but I couldn't just tell everyone to leave. Or at least I felt I couldn't. So I followed closely."_ Mystery's eyes settled on Arthur again, " _I'm not sure what it is about you, but negativity is drawn to you, and I knew it. The moment you split off from me, I knew I had a choice. I broke away from Vivi and followed just to be sure, and I'm glad I did. I only wish I'd acted sooner, or better yet just faced the questions then and forced all of you out."_

With a sigh, the kitsune took in the wide eyed stares with flattened ears. An air of defeat hung heavy in his voice, " _I saw the possession happen. I wasn't quick enough to stop it from acting out and pushing Lewis, but I knew I couldn't lose you both. So I did the only thing I could think of. I cut off the possession while it was still in a containable part of your body: your arm."_

Dipping his head further, Mystery closed his eyes, " _I'm so, so sorry I didn't act sooner, and I'm sorry I attacked you. I failed in my duty of watching out for you, and because of that, all of you suffered."_

Arthur was left sitting, reeling, as he stared down with wide eyes at the kitsune. It… all made sense. The teeth, the shape in the cave after he blacked out, the tails. It _had_ been Mystery. But Mystery hadn't been trying to hurt him, he'd been trying to _save_ him. Every look of guilt and the distance Mystery had kept became clear. The kitsune felt _horrible_ for what he perceived as a failure on his part, the delayed action he’d taken to try and fix it. 

After a moment's hesitation, Arthur lifted his metal hand and gently set it on the kitsune's forehead. The beast blinked in surprise, only to have Lewis's hand settle on his furred neck and Vivi's laying by it. All three looked at one another with understanding and a nod, and Arthur glanced back at the quietly taken aback face of the mystical fox.

"I forgive you," Arthur murmured with a smile, genuine despite the fatigue.

Lewis nodded at his side, "Me too."

"Make it three," Vivi pitched in with a smile, "you can only do so much, and you did all you could."

For a moment, Mystery didn't speak. He looked between the three of them, processing their forgiveness, until movement caught Arthur's eye. Mystery's tails had started to move. Started to _wag_. A small, relieved smile twisted onto his slim muzzle, and Mystery let out a huff of a laugh.

" _I should have expected as much from you guys,"_ he said kindly, eyes darting over each face as he breathed out, " _thank you."_

Tilting his head out from under the hands, the kitsune stood and gave himself a full body shake. He looked at Lewis at first, then let his gaze slowly travel to Vivi as he spoke, " _Like I said, I may be able to fix this. It's only right since I failed to stop it. But I'm going to need your three's help."_

"Anything," the mechanic and book girl vouched in unison. They shared a glance, smirking. _Still got it._

Twitching his ears in amusement, Mystery gave a nod and then tilted one ear back, " _When I was bound to Mushi, I didn't just obey her because she told me to. She took something important to me, and it's remained in the Yukino family for centuries."_ Looking at Vivi, he asked, " _Do you remember that old snow globe your parents gave you?"_

With wide eyes, Vivi nodded, "Yeah, I was always told to look but never touch since it was an heirloom. Grandma said the rules passed down from her grandma 'cause it was so old and fragile."

" _That's not the only reason,"_ Mystery added, " _it's because it's a kitsune star ball. Mine, to be exact. The majority of my powers are inside of it. If I can get it back, then I might be able to help bring Lewis back."_

A look of confliction crossed Vivi's face for a moment. Her brows furrowed and she gave both of her friends a searching look, but before either of them could offer input she turned back to Mystery. With that uncertainty still in her voice, she started, "If I give it back--"

" _I won't take it and run,"_ Mystery promised earnestly, " _I want to help."_

The look of conflict turned into a sad smile, "That's not what I was going to say. If I give it back, it means you're free. You don't have to belong to us anymore and you can go wherever you want."

Mystery's ears perked in surprise. His eyes were calculating, as if he hadn't actually considered that prospect, before stating, " _That… may be the case, but… Like I said. I like you guys."_

His tails thumped gently against the ground, gaining a smile, " _You three, despite how short your lives are to mine, feel like family. I enjoy being around you._ " Chuckling, he added, _"you make things interesting."_

At that, Vivi gave what the mechanic could only call a relieved laugh. She leaned forward and wound her arms around the kitsune's neck, burying her face in his mane. In return, Mystery smiled and leaned his muzzle against her head.

"You're a good boy, Mystery," Vivi's muffled voice sounded from his fur, "you're more than welcome to stay. I'd hate to see you go."

" _The only place we need to go,"_ Mystery pitched in, " _is your place. And then hopefully we can get somewhere with Lewis."_

Looking up from the hug, Mystery fixed Lewis with a smile, " _What do you say? Ready to give it a shot?"_

Never before had Arthur seen Lewis nod with such conviction. He lifted a hand, cradling the locket to his chest, "Anything to be with my loved ones again."

"Right," Vivi announced, bouncing up into a stand. There was a fresh fire in her eyes, a readiness to take charge and a determined _excitement_ for what was to come. She held her hands out to each boy, grinning widely and confidently, "then there's no time to lose. Let's get this show on the road, Mystery Skulls!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd apologize for all the talking in this one but! Explanations were overdue with the crew! I took some more headcanon liberties for things but tried to keep it closest with the info we've got too!  
> Aka the mostly resolution chapter.


	22. Find A Way To Get You Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Right now  
>  Your love is so good to me  
> Your love is a mystery, and baby  
> I promise I'll find you  
> There's no one  
> In this world that means more to me  
> And your love is a mystery, and baby  
> I promise I'll find you_  
> F i n d A W a y

Since the van had been rather banged up thanks to the highway chase, the gang decided to take the ghostly semi truck -- that Lewis promised to return once things were back to normal -- to Vivi's house. It was only luck that she had been given the snowglobe on her 21st birthday, otherwise they would've had to try and sneak into her parent's house. With Lewis already being a ghost and grandma Yukino being suspicious of Mystery, that likely wouldn't have gone well if she'd somehow woken up and caught them.

Thankfully they could avoid that situation altogether. Vivi's house quickly fell under the beams of the headlights, and Lewis gently pulled the rig to a stop at the street corner. As the brakes hissed and the cab settled, he glanced over at his friends with a nervous beat of his locket. Vivi was beside him with Mystery, who had returned to his smaller and more travel friendly size, in her lap. Arthur was on her other side, looking out the window into the night. Lewis almost swore he was dissociating into sleep until the mechanic looked up and met his eye. The blond smiled nervously but encouragingly, likely thinking along the same lines as him.

He just wanted this to work. 

Arthur opened his door and hopped out after taking a deep breath, leaving Mystery and Vivi to slide out after him. For a moment, Lewis simply sat alone. Thoughts ate at him, freezing the ghost momentarily as his hands remained glued to the steering wheel. What if this failed? What if something bad happened, or he was dismissed from this realm instead? Not one to normally entertain the negative, the wraith let out a hollow sigh. He supposed he had nothing to lose, but everything to gain. The chances were worth it to be alive and with those he loved again whole and complete.

By the time he stepped out, his friends were waiting for him by the edge of the cab. Vivi took his hand into hers, and with her touch the erraticness of his locket calmed a little. Arthur was on her other side, but Lewis made a noise similar to clearing his throat to grab his attention. The mechanic looked up curiously and Lewis reached out his other hand to him imploringly. Staring in surprise, Arthur looked into his face searchingly, then at Vivi, and finally gained a shy smile. He stepped over, taking Lewis's hand to be on his other side, and it was that touch that helped soothe him down further. 

The connection from both of them, it felt right. Solid. Lewis wondered why he'd never tried holding both of their hands before.

Hand in hand and driven with purpose, the four of them went for the door. After Vivi quickly unlocked it, she led them inside and began looking around. They stayed linked together, with Lewis keeping a firm grip on them both the entire search. He followed as Vivi led them to a shelf, higher than she was able to reach, and it was only then that Lewis let go of their hands. He gently picked up the tiny snowglobe and cradled it, bringing it down to eye level to examine it.

The piece was old, ancient, but the power it emitted was palpable. He could feel every bit of mystical energy that simple orb contained, and he knew with no doubt that it  _ had  _ to be Mystery's. He lowered the piece, handing it to Vivi with a gentle smile, "Why put it on a shelf so high?"

"It's what my dad and grandma told me to do," Vivi laughed. Like Lewis had done, she examined the orb closely in her hands. With a delicate twist, Vivi unlocked the orb from the prongs holding it and stared with parted lips as the ball grew brighter, losing the facade of a decorative piece and instead becoming a small ball of light.

Mystery sat beside her, and somehow without Lewis noticing, he had resumed his kitsune shape. His tails waved idly, but his eyes were keenly on the glowing shape in Vivi's hands, " _ When you pass it to me, do it with the full intent to return what is mine." _

Nodding, Vivi let out a shaky sigh and turned to face the creature she had called her dog. She held the ball out with one hand, staring into his face as Mystery leaned forward. His nose touched the smooth surface and with it, his eyes glowed a bright white. That same white emitted from Vivi and Mystery in a burst of light, enveloping the room in a thickness of magic. It was hard to say what the light source was, or  _ who _ it was, but the intensity couldn't be ignored. Centuries worth of magical bindings were released with that simple touch, and the very air seemed to breathe it.

Just as quickly as it happened, the lights stopped with an ending flash. When everything settled down, Mystery's eyes were blinking back to normal and the ball was gone. Or perhaps it wasn’t. The kitsune shook himself hard, stretching as all of his tails spasmed behind him. He looked like a dog who had just finished a lap around the neighborhood and was high on the energy. Underneath his disheveled fur, Lewis caught sight of Mystery’s collar. The question mark licence tag sat proudly on a patch of fur, but hanging neatly beside it was a simple white ball of the same size. 

Turning his eyes to Vivi, the kitsune bowed his head deeply to her, " _ Thank you, Vivi. I owe you my life, and not in the way I did to Mushi." _

"Just stay our friend and I'll call it even," the book girl grinned, reaching out a hand. Smirking himself, the kitsune nodded sharply once and tucked his head under her palm. 

After getting his fur scrubbed, Mystery straightened himself up. His eyes turned to Arthur and then Vivi, huffing,  _ "Now, I need something from both of you. It can be anything, just something personal." _

Vivi gasped and nodded, darting down the hall without a second's hesitation. As she did, Arthur paused with uncertainty. If Lewis recalled right, the mechanic didn't exactly have a habit of leaving his things at friends houses, so his options were limited. With a start, Arthur unclipped the star pin from his vest and cradled it in his palm. He looked at it questioningly then back at the kitsune, "Will this--?"

" _ That's fine,"  _ Mystery assured, _ "You wear that vest everywhere, so it and it's accessories are personal." _

Foot falls approached quickly down the hall as Vivi returned. She held out a manga with a grin, and the very sight of it made Lewis snort a laugh. 

"My copy of Sailor Moon volume one" she announced. Arthur handed her the pin and she laid it on top, then gently set the two things in front of Mystery.

Satisfied, the kitsune looked up at them all,  _ "I've… never done something like this, but I want to try. So if this doesn't work--" _

"It will," Vivi promised. She clasped her hands in front of her, smiling in determination. With a look toward Arthur, the mechanic braced himself and nodded.

"If anyone can do this," Arthur said, "it's you."

Breathing in deeply himself, Lewis sighed it out with a smile, "I trust you."

Flattening his ears, Mystery managed his own smile and quietly nodded. He fixed Lewis with a look and motioned him forward with his muzzle, and the wraith shifted tentatively closer. He sat cross legged across from the kitsune, hands on his knees as the beats of his locket ricocheted through his skull. This was it. All or nothing.

There was a flash and Mystery's eyes glowed a bright red. His tails flagged out behind him, lighting up with white at the once-black tips. Across from him, the items adopted that same white. It took Vivi's gasp for Lewis to realize his hands also reflected the color. 

Everything felt… tingly, like his whole body had gone to sleep. He could  _ feel _ the light tracing up his arms, weaving through his chest and surrounding his locket. The sensation made him lightheaded, floaty, and before long he could barely focus anymore. There was a sensation pulling at his locket, beckoning him,  _ calling _ him, and he realized he didn't have the strength to question or ignore it.

Beyond his bleary vision, he vaguely noticed Mystery's tails had stopped glowing. All but three at least. His bright crimson eyes remained fixed on the wraith, and it was in those red lights and the white creeping around his vision that Lewis felt himself sway. The sensation pulled further, and he didn't resist.

In a matter of seconds, Lewis's world was swallowed entirely by light and then a gentle, swarming mass of darkness.

* * *

For a moment, all Arthur could do was cringe behind the light raging in front of him. It was bright, brilliant, and blinding in its magnificence and power. What had started off as a gentle glow between Lewis and Mystery had blossomed into something spectacular. Before the brightness had become too much, Arthur had seen the flames of his friend's hair darken and shift toward what looked closer to actual hair rather than fire.

With a startling flash, the light retreated and left the mechanic blinking cautiously to the room. It was dark again, the only light the one in the hall they'd turned on when the group had come in. Even that seemed like darkness compared to what had just taken the room over prior.

Arthur's eyes darted ahead to see what had happened and froze on a sharp breath. Mystery crouched shakily where he had once sat, tails curled securely around himself as he wheezed in exhaustion. But what caught the mechanic's attention was the shape of his friend, lying unconscious and naked on the floor.

" _ Lewis! _ "

Like many times before, Vivi acted first while Arthur fought to move. The book girl dove to their friend's side, her hands hovering near him as if afraid to touch. They hovered near  _ skin _ .

Lewis… he wasn't a ghost anymore. He was flesh and bone, he was… he was alive?

Arthur wasn't sure when he'd moved, but caught himself in a small startle when his hand reached out to brush his friend's shoulder. It was soft, and it was  _ warm _ . Lewis  _ was _ alive. All at once, Arthur felt pressure build and bubble behind his eyes. He sniffed, reaching up to rub a hand over his eye as he tried to compose himself against the immense  _ relief _ of the situation. Lewis was alive! He was  _ alive! _

" _ He'll be okay,"  _ Mystery huffed from their side, watching but having not moved, " _ he just needs some time to recover." _

That was all the pair of friends needed to hear. 

“I’m going to get him some clothes,” Vivi said hurriedly, standing up and rubbing a hand across her face. Her departure was marked by a sniffle and the rapid fall of feet down the hall, quickly fading into distant scuffling across the house.

Clearing his own vision of tears, Arthur looked down at his unconscious friend. Lewis’s body gently rose and fell with his breath, and it took all of the mechanics' control not to turn into a blubbering mess right then. Lewis…  _ Lewis, oh Lewis. _ Breathing in deeply, Arthur insead turned his attention to a detail he’d never noticed before. All along Lewis’ back and even sporadically on his arms and legs were strange circular scars of varying size. One in particular on his back made the boy wince, the scar tissue the size of his clenched fist. What had caused…

All at once, Arthur  _ knew. _ He knew and he dared not even  _ try _ to think about it. Instead, the boy swallowed nervously and shifted his arms to shed his vest. He set it aside then reached forward to take his friend’s shoulders into his hands. Carefully, Arthur lifted and turned Lewis to lay in his arms and lap against him for support. Lewis’s head lolled to the side, resting against the mechanic’s shoulder with parted lips, completely out cold. Arthur felt a gentle blush rise to his cheeks but paid no mind, instead snagging his vest and laying it neatly over his unconscious friend's waist. 

Once covered, Arthur brushed his real hand gently along Lewis’s cheek, his eyes darting all across the tanner boy as he took his friend in. They settled on those strange scars again, sickeningly realizing the positions mirrored those on his back. The biggest one, that scariest one, lined up with his heart.  _ Oh Lew… _

Bowing his head, Arthur pressed his forehead gently to Lewis's and closed his eyes. A deep frown settled on his face as he hugged the boy close, feeling his chest shudder as he tried to hold back emotion. He was happy,  _ so happy _ that Lewis was alive, but he couldn't fight the agonizing  _ grief  _ and guilt that had led them all to this point. 

_ You did nothing but fight it. You didn't want to do it. You wrestled for control and by all accounts, you didn't kill me, but whatever spirit that was in the cave did. _

Even as Lewis's words rang in his head and he clutched the boy tighter, Arthur felt his breathing grow more shallow. If he had just… if he had just  _ said something _ or if he had stayed out of the cave, if he hadn't gone on that first investigation when that older woman had  _ warned him _ that he was dangerous for them all… Maybe, maybe he wouldn't have…

_ You're innocent. Do you understand? I think you're innocent, and I believe you. _

" _ You know,"  _ a voice rasped, drawing Arthur's teary gaze upward at the kitsune. Mystery looked tired, older as he stayed crouched in his spot. But his eyes were sympathetic, reading over the mechanic ahead of him, " _ you humans have much too short of lives to be consumed by grief. I know it's easier said than done, but if he's forgiven you and alive… I'd take that as a reason to move on too." _ Flicking his ears forward, Mystery added, " _ He's not dwelling and blaming you anymore, and he's breathing. I'd follow his example." _

Follow… his example. Mystery was right, it  _ was  _ easier said than done. It'd take him a long time to forgive himself, but… Arthur could try. He could try, and good God his chest felt tight. Right,  _ breathing _ , that was a thing. Sucking in a deep breath, the mechanic nodded and tried to get that under control first. The last thing he needed was to feel light headed and pass out on Vivi too.

As if summoned by the thought, the sound of swiftly approaching footfalls carried down the hall. Vivi reappeared with a bundle of clothes in her hands, sliding into a crouch at Arthur's side as she explained, "I remembered he had a stash in the back of my closet for late nights. They're still clean. It's a wonder I never found them..."

Together, the duo shifted Lewis around and pulled a pair of undergarments, jeans, and a white t-shirt onto the unconscious purple boy. The clothes were a little looser than Arthur expected them to be, and he realized Lewis looked like he had somehow lost weight. For those none the wiser, it could easily be believed he'd been in a coma for ages or had been trying to survive out in the wilderness. Once Lewis was dressed and…  _ normal _ looking, reality began to set in again. The reality that Lewis was here, he was  _ alive, _ and that they would do their damndest to never lose him again.

Vivi nestled flush against Arthur's side after the mechanic scooped their resurrected friend back up into his lap. A hand of her own rested against Lewis's arm, then a moment later the other pressed against her mouth. Arthur could sense it bubbling up from her, from  _ himself _ , and he leaned his head against his oldest friend's as his eyes fell closed. 

That touch broke the dam. Together, both of them bowed their heads and  _ sobbed.  _ It came on so quickly that Arthur didn't have time to be surprised, and instead he simply stayed leaned against Vivi and held onto Lewis with all he had. It was hard to process  _ why _ they were crying exactly, but Arthur had a few ideas. Between grieving what had happened, being relieved for having Lewis back, and everything in between… it was only a matter of time before either of them had cracked.

At the very least, they had each other.

It took a little while, but eventually the crying turned into the soft sound of laughter. Vivi ran her sleeve over her face as her crying slowly subsided, and she took the time to tenderly wipe Arthur's face as the mechanic sniffled his own laugh. The two looked at one another, emotions of all kinds sparkling in teary eyes and wide grins.

"We're finally back," Vivi croaked with a smile, the expression wavering with emotion still. They hadn't cried themselves dry, but that was alright. It had felt like enough.

Arthur nodded, huffing a tired laugh, "We're back."

At his side, Vivi shifted to move only to pause in surprise and lift her arm to look under it. The mechanic peered, holding back a small flinch when he realized Mystery had crept close while they'd been distracted. His kitsune form had slipped into the shape they knew most, the little dog pressed to Vivi's side with his eyes closed and a soft tremble weaving through his fur. Arthur frowned at the sight, realizing how much of a toll -- emotional and physical -- it had taken on the mystical beast. Not only had it taken a lot of magic, but he couldn't imagine the pressure Mystery felt to make sure everything worked. Arthur only hoped his fear would fade enough one day that he could hug the dog without flinching to express his gratitude. 

With gentle hands, Vivi scooped the disguised kitsune into her lap and cradled him to her chest. He didn't move all except to nestle close, and Arthur was willing to believe that he'd fallen asleep from everything that'd happened.

"He's done so much for us when he didn't have to," the book girl echoed his thoughts. Her hands combed through Mystery's fur affectionately, only to turn her eyes back to Arthur, "He helped complete our family again." At that, Vivi's eyes widened with a realization, "Family, oh my gosh. We need to tell Lew’s parents!"

The Peppers, oh. Arthur didn't even know where to begin to explain to them how they'd found Lewis, but first things first: his family absolutely needed to know he was alive. After all, Arthur had promised them he'd bring their son back and that was exactly what he planned to do.

Without much hesitation, the duo launched into motion. Vivi kept the sleeping Mystery in her arms while Arthur managed to hoist Lewis up into his own. Despite being  _ exhausted _ , he thanked all the years as a mechanic for making him able to do it without breaking too much of a sweat. Instead of going for the semi, the pair of them went for Vivi's car. Neither of them knew how to drive a big rig -- technically Lewis hadn't either, but arresting a ghost wouldn't exactly go far, and that was a  _ whole _ other thing to get into -- so they decided it was best to go more casual. 

Arthur took up position in the back, cradling a sleeping Lewis's head in his lap while Vivi took the wheel. The mechanic balanced an odd mix of nerves, urgency, and fatigue as he watched the streetlights pass as smears in the dark. The day had felt… so, so long, but it was finally nearly over. Between finding Lewis again, being chased back to the shop, and Lewis being restored, he felt the concept of time slip through his fingers like water. That simple night could've been a week and he'd believe it with how much had happened.

His thoughts stopped as the car slowed near a house Arthur hadn't stepped near for two months. A solitary light was on in the living room and as Vivi put the car in park, Arthur slowly jogged his body back into motion. The pair of them slipped out of the car with their charges, walking close to each other to feed on the emotional strength they would likely need. Helping and being there for each other was one thing, but parents being reunited with their child they likely thought dead? That was another caliber all on its own.

The duo stopped in front of the door, pausing in unison as they stared forward. Energy charged between them, shared nerves sparking the air but they knew relief and joy was to follow. It would be okay. A glance between them said as much as Vivi reassuringly smiled and the mechanic felt himself return it.

At his side, Vivi shifted. She scooped her dog close to her chest, freeing one hand to move forward and press the doorbell button. Even outside they heard the muffled, gentle chime ring inside the house as the seconds ticked. There was a quiet shuffling of movement on the other side, then the  _ click _ of the front door unlocking.

The door opened cautiously, Mr. Pepper answering with a confused expression at the fact someone had visited so late at night. That confusion immediately slammed headfirst into shock as he zeroed in on the boy in Arthur’s arms, only to turn into unbridled joy, and then tears as he threw the door open and slapped a hand over his mouth. In a matter of seconds, Arthur’s face began to ache with a smile and the threat to shed tears all over again.

" _ Lewis!"  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more to go! Thank you to everyone who's read so far!


	23. And I Won't Miss A Single Thing With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I will go, where you go  
>  'Cause baby I'm ready  
> Everything that you know  
> Tell me 'cause baby I'm ready  
> .  
> Feels like I've been here before  
> Maybe this time something's different  
> Feels like I've been here before  
> Maybe this time somethings different  
> It's you_  
> F o l l o w Y o u

Last night mingled into a convoluted blur. Arthur couldn't remember when he'd actually slept last but after that last night, he had  _ definitely _ fallen asleep. And  _ hard. _ As his eyes adjusted to the dim room, he fought the urge just to roll over and surrender back to it. It was so tempting, so inviting, but the only thing that kept him from doing so was the fact he wasn't in his own room-- or in any room of Vivi's house.

Where was--? Oh. Right.

Sucking in a quiet breath, Arthur clambered up onto his elbows. The motion left him wincing, oh  _ god _ he felt so sore and stiff. Probably thanks to the van crash. Shoving that thought aside and sighing out the tension, he looked downward and immediately any nervous racing in his chest was soothed by relief. 

Sleeping beside him, tangled up messily in sheets, was Lewis. Right.  _ Right _ . The kitsune's magic had worked. 

Mystery had used their personal items as a bodily anchor to bring Lewis back. It had been… incredible, and emotional to watch. His ghostly shape changed to that of living, and before Lewis could even enjoy it, he returned unconscious and naked on the floor. Arthur knelt down to keep him steady while Vivi had run off, remembering she had kept a change of his clothes in her closet. Lewis looked nearly emaciated with odd scars lining his body in random spots. The most haunting scar was a nasty circular one over his heart, mirroring the same shape on his back. Arthur had tried not to think about it.

Once dressed, Vivi and Arthur both emotionally broke down holding him. Lewis was out cold, but he was  _ alive.  _ He was alive and he could experience the living world again, and best of all, they didn't suffer the chance of losing him. After composing themselves, the duo had carried him to Vivi's car and immediately went to the Peppers’ house. 

They felt bad for coming to the door so late at night, but the look on Mr. Pepper's face upon seeing Lewis alive said it all. He helped escort them in and had immediately called for his wife in teary urgency and excitement. The couple embraced their unconscious son and offered his friends a place to stay for the rest of the night in gratitude. Agreeing, they all helped move Lewis to his bedroom and tucked him in. Aside from having a look of hunger to him and the strange scars, overall Lewis looked alright. The Pepper's decided they'd take him to the doctor after he'd woken up just to be sure.

"I want to stay with him," Vivi had said, sitting at his shoulder. Arthur had nodded and almost left, but Vivi's hand found his wrist quickly and held him in place, "You're staying too, okay? He needs us both when he wakes up "

Arthur had no room to argue, and at that point he didn't want to. The Peppers were happy to oblige and stayed in the room, but it was at that point Arthur's memory faded out. He must have fallen asleep around then.

But Lewis, Lewis was  _ here. _ Arthur had found him and brought him  _ home _ , just like he promised. The method had been unorthodox, but it didn't matter. Lewis was alive and home.

A slow, sleepy smile crept onto Arthur's face as he watched the waiter sleep. The mechanic realized he would be content to do just that for hours. His eyes flicked upward and Arthur paused curiously at the open space on Lewis's other side. Him and Lewis were alone in bed? Where had Vivi gone?

After a quick look around, the mechanic quietly and slowly stepped off the bed. He scrubbed a hand through his hair, sighing through his teeth at how sore and achy he felt. Using pointed movements to be as silent as possible, Arthur slid out of the room and rubbed at his eyes as he walked down the hall.

"Oh, Arthur," a voice greeted him, "it's good to see you awake."

Looking up, the boy was met by the sight of Mr. Pepper at the dining room table. He was scrawling away in a notebook with a half finished breakfast plate, a sight not uncommon at the restaurant. As he smiled at the younger man, Mr. Pepper continued, "How's Lewis?"

"Still asleep," Arthur croaked. Clearing his throat, the mechanic stopped beside the table and glanced around, "Where's Vivi?"

Mr. Pepper tapped his pen gently to the table with a smile, "She left about an hour ago, I think she said it was to do with work. She should be back soon."

Ah, work. The ever present siren no one wanted to adhere. With Vivi as assistant manager, it was understandable. They had about a day or two left on their impromptu vacation, but she'd likely went back to inform Duet in person about what happened.

After thanking Mr. Pepper and gently refusing breakfast for the moment, Arthur turned and headed back toward Lewis's room. As he slid back in, Arthur closed the door and noticed Lewis had moved just slightly since he'd left. Lewis had rolled over, facing where Arthur had been laying before he’d gotten up. Smiling tenderly to himself, the mechanic walked back in and shifted to sit on the bed. There was a noise at his side when Arthur settled and the boy paused to look, brows raising while Lewis nuzzled his face into the pillow.   
  
“Lew?” he asked gently, hugging his knees to his chest. 

At his voice, Lewis’s brows gently furrowed and he drew in a deep sigh. The waiter dragged up a hand, lazily rubbing it across his face. Even that, just a simple motion, elicited a wider smile from Arthur. It was the first time he’d actually seen Lewis move and react on his own since he’d changed back to normal. Resting his cheek on his knees, he patiently waited as Lewis let his hand fall limply back down. It took a moment more, but Lewis’s eyes cracked open. 

Arthur’s heart jumped at the sight. Unlike what he’d had before the incident, Lewis’s eyes were like that of the illusion his ghost form had adopted: purple irises like when he was living, but surrounded by a black sclera. Even so, Arthur didn’t let his anxiety rise too high. Maybe it was just a harmless side effect. Ghosts couldn’t sleep, right? Lewis had felt too solid when he held him, too warm, too  _ real _ to be anything but living again. Surely it was purely cosmetic.

Then, quietly and with heavy gravel, “...Arthur?”

The mechanic’s eyes crinkled with his smile, “Hey, Lew. How’re you feeling?”

Groaning very gently, Lewis’s eyes drifted back closed, “Tired… like I got run o’r by a truck.”

Arthur couldn’t help but laugh even as he felt sympathy for the boy. He definitely felt that one. Tenderly, Arthur reached his left hand down, scrubbing Lewis’s hair affectionately and slowly. Lewis gained a small smile, and Arthur’s heart did a flip in his chest.

“Well, you did nearly run  _ me _ over with a truck,” Arthur chuckled. Below, Lewis let out a hoarse, throaty laugh of his own. “No hard feelings though.”

Lewis drew in a sharp breath. His eyes snapped open fully and he looked at Arthur, then raised his own hand to touch at his hair. The mechanic briefly paused, worried he might’ve accidentally pulled his hair thanks to his metal fingers, but Lewis didn’t look to be in pain. In fact he was dumbstruck, tugging his own hair gently and then ran his fingers down his face, breathing out, “I’m… I-I’m…”

“You’re back,” Arthur finished for him, turning a little more to face him, “Mystery’s idea worked.”

“I’m alive,” Lewis wavered, grinning slowly as his eyes started to shine with unshed tears. He dropped his hands, planting them into the bed and gritting his teeth with effort. Realizing what he was doing, Arthur uncurled himself and gently took a hold of his shoulders.

“Woah big guy,” the blond laughed tiredly, “don’t move too much, yeah? You’re probably weak as hell.”

Despite his own warning, Arthur shifted a hand under Lewis and helped him sit up against the pillows and headboard. Once situated, Lewis looked at his hands and then patted them at his chest. He huffed, and then laughed, and those unshed tears broke the surface as he kept laughing. Arthur felt pressure behind his eyes build as he watched, sniffling and running a thumb under his eye. He couldn’t help but join in with the laughter, enthralled by the sound and overall just  _ overjoyed _ that Lewis was back. His friend was  _ back. _ The one he… the guy he loved, and the one he admitted he loved  _ oh god _ was back.

As the sounds of mirth calmed and the tears lessened, Lewis wiped at his face with the hem of his shirt and looked over at his friend. He smiled, true and heartfelt as he said, “Thank you.”

Smirking gently, Arthur raised a brow at the purple boy, “For what exactly?”

“For helping me,” Lewis elaborated. 

With a blink, the mechanic gave a loose shrug and scrubbed at the back of his neck, “I… I feel like I more or less  _ caused _ the issues but--”

“What’s in the past is the past,” Lewis interjected. He reached forward, covering Arthur’s free hand with his own. Immediately heat soared up the boy’s back, and he held Lewis’s gaze as his friend continued, “You opened my eyes when I thought I had gotten the full picture. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve never understood what happened." Breathing out a laugh, Lewis continued, "Not to mention, my life would be a lot less happy, a lot less exciting without you in it. You… helped me realize some things I hadn't thought I'd felt, and you helped bring me back just as much as Vivi and Mystery did.”

Arthur was swallowed by stunned silence. He stared, face steadily burning, into Lewis’s eyes as he went on, “I wish… I hadn’t been so closed before, but I can’t afford any regrets with this second chance at life.” Squeezing his hand, Lewis’s voice gentled, “You’re important to me, Arthur. I’d just… never realized the full extent until I was able to see through your eyes.”

It occurred to Arthur in some part of his mind that him and Lewis had moved closer to one another. Their faces, in fact, were maybe a few inches apart. When had Arthur leaned forward? When had  _ Lewis _ leaned forward? His heart was racing, so fast and hard he heard it almost more than his friend’s voice. His free hand, having slid off his neck, braced against the bed at Lewis’s hip. Was this…?

Within a breath of a moment, Lewis closed the distance between them. Arthur’s eyes widened as his heart lunged into his throat, heat blooming all over his body and nerves rattling his arms. Despite that fact, an air of ease sighed through him within a split second of the sudden reaction. His eyes fell closed, his shoulders loosened, and Arthur returned the pressure against his lips warmly and with feeling he had been holding back for  _ so long. _ There was a touch to his jaw, and Arthur could only assume that the feather light feeling was Lewis’s hand holding him steady. Everything about the shared touch of their lips was tender, new. Greatest of all, it was genuine.

All at once, the kiss felt like it lasted ages but ended so quickly. Having been the one to initiate, Lewis was also the one to slowly withdraw. Arthur blinked his eyes open, lips parted as he sat there, absolutely dazed. He had kissed Lewis… He had kissed--! No, Lewis had kissed  _ him. _ Oh god above…

“Wh-where did…” Arthur croaked breathlessly, warmth nearly too hot radiating from his back, “that come from?”

“Understanding,” the other boy stated simply, softly with a laugh. Lewis lowered his hand from Arthur’s face, laying it gently in his lap as he huffed himself. His cheeks had darkened, reddened, and the mechanic realized that was the first time he had ever seen Lewis blush thanks to  _ him. _ Did his heart know any other speed than marathon racer?

Arthur had… so many questions, but he didn’t know where to even begin. Did that mean that Lewis liked him back?  _ Loved _ him back? Was that just a one and done to let Arthur have a taste of what he wanted? Was it simply gratitude? Oh  _ god _ what would Vivi think if she knew he’d kissed her boyfriend?

"I, ah," Lewis laughed, raising a hand to scrub at his hair, "was that… too much? Too forward? I thought maybe--"

"No," Arthur blurted, a little more excited than he anticipated. Swallowing nervously, he laughed out in hopes to amend, "n-no, I just, I didn't expect it is all. I never thought that you, that… ah…"

“ _ I’d tell you guys to get a room,” _ a voice hummed, causing Arthur to yelp, “ _ but you kinda already have one.” _

Looking over his shoulder quickly, Arthur watched the large white shape rise up from the darkest corner of the room. Mystery stretched, his tails splaying out behind him as he did and-- Arthur realized he was missing a few. He'd been so distracted by the magic at work, he must have not noticed. No longer bolstering seven tails, instead the kitsune had four twitching behind him with the stretch. Had that been the cost of such extensive magic? Mystery shook himself out, smirking their way as he padded to the side of the bed and rested his muzzle close to Lewis’s elbow, “ _ How ya feeling? _ ”

Lewis shifted and dropped his hand onto Mystey’s head, kneading circles into his fur with a smile, “Like I’m myself again. Thank you, Mystery.”

Behind the kitsune, the tails swayed in a soft wag, “ _ It was a group effort. I’m glad you’re alright.” _

“What about you?” Lewis asked, nodding toward him, “you look a few short back there.”

With a blink, Mystery flicked his tails once in unison, “ _ Exhausted, but worth it. I’ll be fine. _ ”

“This uh,” Arthur laughed, moving to replace Lewis’s hand as his friend withdrew tiredly, “this going to be a normal thing for you then?”

“ _ Oh, no, _ ” Mystery snickered, tilting his head into Arthur’s hand, “ _ only around you three. Maybe Lance. At least I know I can talk now without getting screams. _ ”

“I dunno,” Lewis hummed with a smirk, “surprise this one enough and it won’t matter if you’ve talked before or not.”

“Hey!”

A chorus of laughter erupted around the room, and the niceness of it all melted the anxieties deep in Arthur’s chest. This.  _ This _ . Things were finally starting to feel right again. The only one missing to make it perfect was Vivi. As the laughter toned down, Mystery backed up and pointedly sat in front of the door. He let his paws slide in front of him and flipped down into a lazy lying position, yawning, " _ I'll be the post guard. Continue." _

Continue? What had they--  _ oh. _ Feeling the warmth on his face resurface, Arthur turned a shy look Lewis's way. To his surprise, he saw that very same look mirrored in the waiter's eyes. He… wasn't used to this. It was  _ nice, _ oh it was nice, but never had he expected Lewis to look at him any differently.

"The truth is," Lewis broke the silence, lowering his eyes to fiddle with his hands, "I've never… considered trying to pursue a guy. It just never occured to me. If you had asked me back then when you'd wanted to, when," Lewis stopped to laugh to himself,  _ at _ himself, "I  _ should _ have noticed, I think… I would have been surprised."

Drawing in a breath, Lewis lifted his gaze to his friend's rapt stare, "I would have had to think about it for a while, but I think I would have said yes."

Lewis… would have said yes. He  _ would have said yes _ . There were so many things Arthur felt like he could say, so many things he wanted to convey, but all he could manage was to blurt out a soft, "o-oh." He supposed Lewis knew everything anyway. If what he said was true, Lewis had lived nearly two years of his life in a matter of seconds. 

“I don’t think I ever really realized how I was acting or feeling,” Lewis went on, abruptly stopping his fidgeting to instead comb a hand through his hair, “To me, you’ve always been  _ Arthur _ . You’ve been there since the start of my relationship with Vivi. Hell, if you  _ weren’t _ there, I don’t think the relationship would’ve felt right. You were a necessary part to it all.”

Furrowing his brows, the waiter looked up to meet Arthur’s eye, “Am I making sense?”

Arthur blinked. Snapping out of his staring, the mechanic nodded with a soft laugh, “Yeah, y-yeah, I think I get what you mean. It’s like how when I think of Vivi and I, it’s… hard not to imagine you there. It’s not  _ right _ for you to be gone.” Sighing gently, Arthur shifted his left hand and stared at the metallic palm, “That’s why when… when you went missing, I did  _ everything _ to try and get you back. I couldn’t just--”

Across the room, the doorknob gave a rattle. Mystery flipped up from where he was laying down, shifting to stand and stepping behind where the door would open. Arthur looked back and forth rapidly between the kitsune and the door, waiting for him to turn back into a dog with an increased heart rate, before the door opened to reveal Vivi.

Her eyes were turned down at first, but the moment she looked up and saw Lewis sitting and awake, a hand flew to her mouth and a grin beamed from behind it.

“Lewis!” 

Rushing in, Vivi jogged toward the bed full speed. As she did, the boy laughed and held his arms open to take her in. Vivi lunged into his arms with her own laugh, squeezing him in a tight hug that he happily returned. As they embraced, Mystery quietly nosed the door closed and took his place back to sitting in front of it with a content smirk. The couple kissed, Vivi holding his face between her hands as she tried not to laugh and break apart. Key word: tried. She quickly succumbed to relieved laughter and Lewis followed suit, dipping his head to press their foreheads together. 

Across from them, Arthur felt a warm smile creep onto his face. He’d shifted back a little to give them some room, and turned his eyes down just a bit. He  _ did _ feel a tiny wave of jealousy, but it was easy to push down knowing and  _ seeing  _ them so happy. With Lewis back and Vivi in the room, they were complete again. All could go back to normal.  _ Normal… how I've ached for that. _

"Oh, Lew," Vivi laughed, shifting a hand to rub her palm against an eye, "I'm so happy to see you up! I wasn't sure when you'd wake so I just left for an errand but--"

"It's okay," Lewis promised with warm laughter, his own eyes glistening with unshed tears. Tilting his head, he added with a smile toward the mechanic that crinkled his eyes, "Arthur kept me company."

"And good company he is," the girl huffed, sparing her friend a thankful smile as she lowered her hand. She turned back to Lewis however, cupping his face again as she tilted his head, "Your eyes! They're like they were when you were spookified."

"They are?" Lewis paled, looking between them. Vivi nodded and dug in her pocket for her phone, pulling it out and launching up the camera app. She handed it to Lewis so he could see and the boy's eyes widened into disks as he tilted his head back and forth, balking at the image he saw. "Not sure… how I'm going to explain that to my family."

"We'll figure it out. You're still the same Lewlew we know and love," Vivi promised, patting his face with a tender smile. She took a moment just to look at him, to take him in like Arthur had, and reached up to smooth his bed tousled hair down lovingly. Sitting up, the girl scooted back and looked between the boys with folded hands and a huff, "Speaking of figuring things out, there's something I wanna discuss now that we all can."

Laughing, Vivi added with a shake of her head, "And  _ man _ have I been meaning to say something sooner."

Discuss? What could she want to talk about?  _ I mean, there’s a lot of things she could be wanting to say… _ Despite her wanting to speak, an impulse dragged at the back of his throat. Did Arthur dare interrupt and admit to kissing her boyfriend? He felt she deserved to know and the words burned on the tip of his tongue--

Vivi started with a grin before he could say anything, "I don't mean to be so forward, but there’s no real slick segway to use to get into this. So! How would you two feel about trying polyamory out?"

"Wait, what?" The words echoed as one voice, and Arthur looked toward Lewis, spooked to hear their voices in sync. He vaguely recalled Vivi making a joke about it months ago, but, did Vivi just…

Snorting, the blue girl lifted a hand to her mouth and waved the other one, "Okay, let me rephrase. Lew, how do you feel about having multiple partners? And Arthur, how would you feel about sharing Lewis?”

"I," Lewis stammered, "I'd… never considered it."

"Wait," Vivi quickly interjected, holding up her fingers and looking at Arthur, "you've told Lewis already, right?" At Arthur's blushing nod, she clapped her hands together and looked to Lewis, "Cool, and how do you feel about that?"

Still battling the whirlwind of the sudden questions and Vivi's incredibly open and calm demeanor about the topic, all Arthur could do was watch. Lewis was blushing again, but he didn't exactly look uncomfortable per say, more just taken aback. Laughing with both surprise and likely at the situation itself, he said, "I… I feel like…" Lifting his eyes, Lewis grinned a little wider, shyer, "I might... like him too?"

_Oh lord have mercy,_ Arthur wasn't sure whether to fall over from some gigantic wave of relief, cry, or pass out. The feelings that had caused him the most grief, the most struggle of all between the friendship… and Lewis _liked_ _him back_. Somehow, Arthur denied all three reactions as he listened beyond his racing heart as Lewis went on, "But I still want to be with you too, Vivi."

"Hence why I suggest polyamory," Vivi grinned warmly, looking between them, "Truth is, I'd been thinking about this for some time. My whole memory… thing and then Lew disappearing put a pause on it, but when they came back, so did everything else. I had wanted to talk to you guys after the camping trip but well… things happened."

Reaching out one hand, Vivi took a hand from Lewis and then reached for Arthur's. The mechanic obliged, settling his hand against hers with the slightest frown across his face, "But Viv, you know I'm…"

"I know, silly," Vivi chuckled, "if you guys want to give it a shot, then it'll just be like this: Artie, you will have a boyfriend. Your boyfriend will also have a girlfriend, me, as well as a boyfriend, you, but I won't be  _ your _ girlfriend. Make sense?"

On her other side, Lewis was laughing and shaking his head, "Where did all this come from?"

"I've known Arthur's feelings about you for a long time," Vivi explained to the purple boy, "and when I realized they hadn't changed over time… I wanted to try and see if I could find a way to work it out to make all of us happy. You two mean so much to me, I can't stand to see either of you miserable. And you, Artie," Vivi said with a raised brow at her friend, "Aren't allowed to wallow while we have somethin' going on." Squeezing their hands, she said with a small smile, "If you're uncomfortable sharing, then I want to suggest maybe Lewis and I take a break. We already kinda have been, not really against our will but... You two can try something out just the two of you, then--"

"No," Arthur interjected, squeezing her hand back. Flicking his eyes up to meet hers, the mechanic pressed, "I don't want to get in the middle of a good thing, and what you two have is a  _ good _ thing. So if… if it's not weird for you, Lew, then I'm willing to share and give it a try i-if you are."

Lewis sat still for a moment, processing all the things being tossed around and his own thoughts. Arthur didn't blame him; it was a  _ lot _ to take in. But as Lewis mulled, Arthur realized… he would honestly be just fine sharing Lewis. He'd wanted nothing more than for Vivi and Lewis to be happy, and if they could all be happy together in a relationship… was there anything more perfect? Sure he'd been jealous and mopey before, but that was when all three were friends with two of them partners. Perhaps it'd be different if he felt included in that same way. He  _ hoped _ it’d be different.

"I think," Lewis softly started, pulling Arthur's attention silently, "that I'd be willing to try too." Rubbing his neck with his free hand, Lewis said with a gentle laugh, "It's like what we were talking about before Vivi came back. You're a necessary part of this, Arthur. And… I think it's time we did something to make it more official."

Beaming from her spot, Vivi tugged their hands closer to her chest and looked between them both eagerly with just her darting eyes, "So is that a yes?"

The boys looked up at one another. Lewis smirked warmly, shyly back at the mechanic and… Arthur felt his chest bloom with warmth. The looks that Lewis had been giving him today, never in a million years had he dreamed they’d actually happen in the waking world. They eased his anxieties away into a gentle hum of indistinguishable background noise. And so Arthur grinned genuinely, truly, nodding once as the expression met his eyes. He didn’t have to be asked twice. Content, Lewis returned the nod as he kept eye contact with him, "Yeah. That's a yes."

Vivi tugged the two boys hands together, holding them between her own as she laughed out in triumph, " _ Yes!  _ Oh god I'm so glad you two were cool with that."

" _ I sure hope they'd be," _ Mystery called from the door. Arthur jolted. He'd nearly forgotten the kitsune was still there. Smiling slyly from his paws, Mystery went on, " _ I mean, they were sucking faces before you walked in." _

Gasping, Vivi looked back at the boys in wild surprise, "What? Seriously?"

"I-I, he's exaggerating, we--" Arthur stammered in panic as heat surged across his face, listening to Lewis fumble himself across from him. It didn't matter though. Vivi threw her head back in a ringing cackle, bowing forward to lean over the hands she had pressed between her own. Her entire body shook with laughter, and Arthur was left reeling that anger wasn't her first response. One day he'd know better. 

"Oh my  _ god," _ she wheezed, shaking her head, "I'm so mad I  _ missed _ that!  _ Finally!" _

Lifting back up to take in their surprised faces, Vivi snorted with her own devious smirk and giggled, "Oh come  _ on _ . The sexual tension between you two has been killing me since we met, whether either of you knew how you felt or not. I've just been  _ waiting _ for it."

At that, the entire room exploded into laughter. Had it been  _ that  _ obvious? God Arthur felt so dumb! In a kind way, that is. The best possible outcome had happened after months of hardship and grief, of Arthur surrendering to the idea that there was no way to gain what he truly wanted and that he'd just have to move on. It had seemed unlikely at first, but somehow, someway, it had all worked out. 

Thanks to the laughter, Mr. Pepper came by to check on them. Mystery quickly adopted his dog shape and bounced around excitedly, lunging onto the bed to be beside them. When Mr. Pepper caught sight of his conscious son, he became a blubbering, happy mess and hugged the boy dearly as Lewis laughed and returned the embrace. 

The rest of the day was spent with family reunions. Lewis's sisters and Mrs. Pepper all hugged and kissed the boy repeatedly in teary thankfulness, and as promised there was also a quick trip to the hospital once everyone had a chance to thoroughly speak with Lewis about his state. Everyone had been a touch unnerved by his eyes, but it was a cosmetic thing they'd deal with if it meant having Lewis back for good. Even the doctor wasn’t sure what to make of it, but ruled out any negative side effects. Once cleared as healthy all but for being dehydrated and in need of proper nourishment, Lewis was sent back home. 

After Lewis was settled back in bed, Arthur and Vivi briefly left to call a towing service for the…  _ mysterious _ big rig parked in Vivi’s neighborhood. Once Lewis was returned to his human state, the magic that had transformed the truck and trailer faded back to its standard look. While the duo waited for the large vehicle to be reclaimed, the pair emptied out the trailer of all the clumps of wood left by Shiromori’s demise. Arthur was startled by the state, but Vivi kept a tired, knowing expression as they brought them away into a firepit in her backyard. The tree spirit’s remains were burned and the ashes buried, with a rock set atop the spot and the pink beads that the spirit had worn around her neck draped over the stone. 

With that taken care of, both of them headed back to the Peppers’ house. Vivi and Arthur spent as much time with the revived waiter as they could. Of course his sisters swarmed him from time to time, but the parents made it clear that Lewis would need rest to get back in tip top shape. With Vivi and Arthur at his side, his recovery took off with flying colors. Neither Vivi or Arthur really went home aside from grabbing new clothes during those weeks, opting instead to spend time at the Pepper household to be in better reach of the recovering Lewis. Vivi would bring manga from her collections and Arthur supplied a Switch and Smash to play in downtime.

The new state of their relationship began to fall into place smoothly as well. While the boys were shy and awkward at first, Vivi was completely encouraging and helped them feel more comfortable together by being supportive of them. Lewis adopted the idea of two partners well after a bit of adjustment, and Arthur found with relief he couldn't describe that the nasty sting of jealousy had finally found its resting place away from them. No longer did he watch Lewis and Vivi kiss with a sick dread in his stomach. Instead, he watched with a grin only to be caught up shortly after in a kiss with Lewis himself that left him breathless and giggly as his boyfriend, yes,  _ his boyfriend _ , beamed above. Over time, Arthur eventually got brave enough to kiss Lewis himself unprovoked and  _ God _ did it feel nice to not have to hide his emotions anymore. 

Arthur had never felt so giddy and so  _ happy _ about having feelings for someone, and for once his feelings about Lewis no longer had the sting of longing and quiet heartache.

Time passed and within a month, Lewis had fully recovered from the cave incident fiasco. All of the crew returned to work by then and Arthur noted with an air of peace that he felt content, recharged when he was with Lewis and Vivi. His work quality soared at the shop and his efficiency followed suit without the weight of previous negativity. He'd felt things similar before with his friends, but this was different. This was deeper, closer, an understanding they hadn't quite managed before.

This was  _ right _ .

The trio took turns spending the night at each other's homes for a while, usually going every other day at someone else's house. Lance became aware of the relationship after Arthur tried to find a way to explain the dynamic when he’d walked in on them all cuddling together on the couch. His uncle was a little confused at first, but seeing the three of them happy together was enough for Lance in the end to leave it be. Arthur was happy, so by extension Lance felt happy for him. Vivi kept it from her parents aside from small hints to her mom, unsure of their reaction, and Lewis very slowly came out about it to his own parents. They were definitely startled, but with time, they too came to accept the trio for what they were. Afterall, what they truly were was happy.

Half a year passed before they knew it. Arthur, Vivi, and Lewis were content with their lives together and eventually after several discussions, decided to give things a go and move in together. As the only one having her own place, Vivi's home became  _ their _ home. They all pitched in with rent and bills after moving over, helping fuel the idea that the home was all of theirs and not just rented by Vivi. It was a safe haven, a sanctuary to return to after a day's work when all three could come home and collapse on one another without a care or worry. Arthur realized quickly how  _ very _ used to this he could get.

Despite the cave, ghost hunting remained an activity the Mystery Skulls continued to do as well. The van, after undergoing extensive repairs but managing to be saved and repainted, stayed parked in the driveway primed and ready for whenever adventure called the group. Mystery, unafraid of exposing himself and still remaining at Vivi's side, could more adequately communicate if he felt a situation may be too dangerous for them to investigate. Arthur had to admit that it was good to have a mythical creature on their side, especially if he helped keep them out of any more real danger. With time, the fear had managed to fade too with the help of forgiveness. Before long, Mystery could sit at Arthur's side and without hesitation or flinching, the mechanic could loop an arm around him or scrub at his fur. It’d be a lie to say Arthur didn’t have a touch of PTSD from the event, but everyone knew and understood. Best of all, everyone was patient when it happened to act up and the mechanic turned a little jumpier than usual. Thankfully the spells never lasted long, and Arthur could often be caught napping with Mystery curled on his chest or legs like old times.

Even if it had taken such a drastic turn for the terrible at one point in their journey, in the end things had worked out. It was incredible to think of. To see a situation that had been so bad, so hopeless simply turn with communication and the willingness to try something new. Never did Arthur think a solution so  _ simple _ could be the answer to all of their problems and his emotional woes.

And so, as Arthur laid awake in bed one evening a year after the event, he reflected. Lewis's back was pressed up against his chest as Vivi slept curled up in the waiter's arms, all while Arthur's cheek rested in Lewis's hair. At the end of the bed, Mystery slept soundly and stretched out just below their feet with the gentlest snore. The mechanic smiled, looking them over as he lay comfortably holding Lewis to himself in the dark. If he had been tasked with thinking of a better future for himself, Arthur would turn the challenge down.

Arthur was happy, he was completely and unashamedly in love, and he knew with every glance that Lewis felt the same for him and Vivi alike. There was no reason for him to think of a different present when the one he had had been hard earned and  _ deserved _ . There was no other place he'd rather be, and no other people he’d rather follow than his quirky best friend and the gentle soul of the boy he adored.

Best of all, he knew the feeling was so incredibly mutual. And as Arthur smiled and closed his eyes, nuzzling sleepily into the back of Lewis's neck, he knew that was all he ever needed. He had found those like him, and Arthur loved them from the very bottom of his heart.

And he knew, without a doubt, that they felt the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, where do I even begin?  
> First of all, I wanna thank each and every one of y'all who read through :D I don't often post all that I write (with the exception of undertale, but even then only half of what I've written is really posted) so to see the reception this has gotten speaks volume to me <3 When writing for myself, I can only hope others enjoy what I produce too!  
> This fic wasn't even meant to really be aha. At first it was two fic ideas: one idea was the first chapter of this -- a short oneshot immediately following Hellbent to show Arthur and Lewis reconciling -- and the other was exploring Arthur's time hospitalized/recovering (which was the start of our second arc). It occurred to me that I could do both and link them together for world building and character analysis goodness, and so that's how FaW came to be!  
> I wasn't sure I'd complete it, but between August of last year to February, I managed to crank it all together around the craziness of life. I was even more unsure of posting it, but I'm glad I did.  
> I've got two other, smaller chapter stories in the works (one 2/3 done and one outlined and started) that follow this one and are set in the same universe, but we'll see if I can get them posted too at some point :,D I'm super excited for the release of The Future and am hungry for more of the story we'll be given, so I'm trying not to dig myself too deep of a hole here hah! If the muse strikes, I might write something for that too, who knows!  
> Anyway I'm rambling -- bottom line, thank you all so much for being on this ride with me <3 You guys are awesome.  
> As a thank you and a celebration, [I did another sketched song comic](https://rinzydings.tumblr.com/post/623034193790795777/maybe-this-will-appear-in-the-tags-now-in-light) for the story. Enjoy!


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